


An Easy Rhythm

by Upsidedown10



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Growing Up Together, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, spoilers for chapter 318
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-07-14 16:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16044563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Upsidedown10/pseuds/Upsidedown10
Summary: Kuroo moves in next door and changes Kenma's . . . everything.Or a canon compliant KuroKen slow burn because I've read all the other ones





	1. Shy and Withdrawn

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh, so this is my first multi-chapter fic and I have no idea what I'm doing, but I've read every KuroKen slow burn there is and now it's my turn to add to the pile. Enjoy! (wish me luck!)

Kenma was seven when his mother made him stop playing Virtua Fighter to meet the new family that had just moved in next door. She told him that he had to come to the door because they were coming to greet them. Kenma had resisted, of course, because nothing sounded worse than stopping his game to meet a bunch of strangers, but his mother dragged him along, saying that they had a little boy his age. This didn’t make Kenma any more excited to go, since most boys his age were loud and dirty and wanted to run around outside, but he didn’t have a choice so he went, making sure to stay behind his mother at all times. Kenma was surprised when he saw the new family, though, mostly because the boy his age was mirroring him, hiding behind his father.

“Introduce yourself.” The new man said.

“My name is Kuroo,” He said quietly, not making eye contact, which was fine with Kenma, “I just moved in next door. Um, this is my . . .” his voice faded out, leaving the adults to pick up with boring conversation that Kenma tuned out because he was focusing on the boy, Kuroo. He had weird hair that stuck up in some places and went down in others. It was too wild and strange for such a shy and withdrawn boy. 

“Yes, it’s just myself, my parents, and of course Tetsurou here.” The man said, placing a hand on Kuroo’s head, pushing down parts of his hair that were sticking up. 

“How lovely. Oh, Kenma, why don’t you take Tetsurou-kun to your room so you two can play?” his mother suggested. Kenma tried to think of a reason to say no, but Kuroo’s father jumped in, moving his hand and letting the wild hair spring back up.

“Oh yes, it would be great for Tetsurou to have a friend in the neighborhood.” And that was it, so Kenma led Kuroo to his room where they stood awkwardly for a moment. The adults probably thought they would immediately be friends because they were around the same age, but Kenma wasn’t that good at making friends and it seemed like Kuroo wasn’t either. So now they were trapped in a moment of quiet anxiety, forced together by well-meaning parents. Kenma glanced around his room, desperately hoping to find an out and his eyes settled on his games.

“. . . wanna play Virtua Fighter?” he asked. Kuroo’s eyes shot to him, then back down before he nodded. Kenma went to load up a new game while Kuroo settled on the floor. Kenma handed him a controller then sat on his bed and hit multiplayer. Kuroo was not too bad and he quickly got better as they played round after round in complete silence, only broken by the game’s staccato sound effects. They played for what seemed like hours before Kenma’s mother came to tell them that it was time for Kuroo to go home. Kenma watched him go, surprised that Kuroo turned back at his doorway, giving a small wave that Kenma was too shocked to return before Kuroo slipped out.

 

This would become a normal position for the two of them. Sometimes, Kuroo’s father and grandparents would be out and Kuroo would come over to Kenma’s and the two would play Virtua Fighter for hours without speaking. Kuroo didn’t often win, but Kenma never said anything, just hitting ‘rematch’ over and over for hours until it was time for Kuroo to go home. What else could he do? They never talked once they started playing and at some point, it became a comforting experience for Kenma. Whenever Kuroo came over, they both knew exactly what they would do. They didn’t have to talk about it, they didn’t have to come up with things to say or wonder if they were doing the right thing. They didn’t have to worry about any of it. Kuroo would just follow Kenma to his room, sit in the same place every time and wait for Kenma to get the game going. Then, they could relentlessly hit ‘rematch’ for hours before Kuroo left. There were no questions about it. Kenma didn’t have to worry about things like saying the right thing (or saying anything at all) and he found great comfort in the fact that there was no pressure when he played with Kuroo. It was an easy rhythm. He almost began looking forward to the times when Kuroo came over, it was almost meditative. Kenma’s favorite part was whenever Kuroo left because he always looked back and gave a little wave, which Kenma now returned each time. Eventually, they would both smile along with this exchange.

 

One day, hours into their play session, Kenma glanced at Kuroo, then quickly back to the fight, but not quick enough. Out of the corner of his eye, Kenma saw Kuroo glance up at him. Kenma is anxious about saying anything to ruin their rhythm, but the thought has snuck up on him and won’t let go. What if Kuroo doesn’t actually like Virtua Fighter and he just plays it because that’s what Kenma keeps playing? What if Kuroo is getting bored and wants to play something else? Kenma has lots of games. He started thinking about this a while ago, but he didn’t dare say anything in case he ruined everything. What if Kenma said something to disrupt their delicate balance, their carefully crafted rhythm and Kuroo didn’t want to come over anymore? So Kenma didn’t say anything, but the thought kept needling him until he had so say something. He would say something after this match was done. Kenma won after a tense minute and with a huge effort he finally brought himself to break the perpetual silence.

“We always play this, so well, was there anything else you wanna play?” They made eye contact for another second before Kuroo looked down and made a really weird face. Then, he hopped up and ran out of the room. Kenma immediately started to panic. He scared Kuroo away, he ruined it. He heard Kuroo leaving his house, the front door not even closing properly. He was probably running back home to get away from Kenma forever. He’d have to explain to his parents why Kuroo never came over anymore. Then he heard the front door slam, and he looked up. Kuroo was at his door again, a volleyball in his hand and a question on his face. Volleyball? Kenma didn’t want to go outside and play a sport, he meant video games not any game . . . but Kuroo looked so hopeful and Kenma had asked after all.

 

So they started practicing volleyball, bumping the ball back and forth. And Kenma watched Kuroo come alive, his previous subdued shyness giving way to excitement and real passion. The transformation was as fascinating as it was irritating, because it was amazing to see Kuroo so changed, but that change meant that he was trying to get Kenma to actually bump the ball back. Kenma wasn’t so pleased with this turn, as he had to be outside, but he also wasn’t very good at it, so it was hard to make the effort. 

“That one was so close!” Kuroo said after yet another failed attempt and demonstrated the right posture, “So you haf’ta put your hands like this! If you hit this part, the ball will go right up!” Kenma doubted that, but it was nice to see Kuroo so excited. Kenma tossed the ball to Kuroo’s waiting arms and watched as it skipped off sideways, bounced once, then splashed right into the only puddle around. There was a moment of silence before both burst out laughing at the absolute absurdity and Kuroo’s inability to bump it like he explained. 

After a moment, Kuroo went to get the ball and as he turned around his eyes locked onto something behind Kenma. Kenma turned, heart picking up for a second before laying eyes on one of the cutest stray cats he’d ever seen. He took a step forward, checking to see if the cat would run, but it just watched him. Kuroo stood at Kenma’s side and the two slowly approached the cat, crouching down not far away. When Kenma held out his hand, the cat perked up, coming forward to rub against his fingers. It was mostly a dirty white with patches of reddish and black, but it had a little pink nose and large, intelligent eyes.

“We should adopt it.” Kuroo said quietly. Kenma glanced at him, but Kuroo was looking fondly at the cat as Kenma rubbed its head and back. 

“Yeah, let’s get him home.” Kenma said, reaching for the cat, but as he tried to pick it up, it squirmed and leaped out of his arms, bolting away and disappearing faster than either boy could move. They stood there in silence for a moment, before Kuroo shrugged.

“It probably has a whole life already.” He said.

“What do you mean?” Kenma asked.

“It probably has food and friends already. There’s a lot of stray cats around here.” He was probably right. They shouldn’t take the cat away from its friends. Kenma scratched at the inside of his arm and pulled up his hoodie sleeves to reveal a huge patch of dark purple running up each of his arms.

“Wha? What are these spots?” He asked, a bit of panic slipping into his voice. Kuroo leaned over to look.

“Ahh, it’s nothin’ but a little internal bleeding. It goes away and if you keep it up, they’ll stop appearing altogether.” Kuroo said casually. Kenma stood stock still, shocked that anyone could say something so normal as ‘it’s nothing’ and something so terrifying as ‘internal bleeding’ in the same sentence. It sounded serious, but Kuroo didn’t seem to be worried. What was such a smart boy like Kuroo doing hanging out with Kenma? “Come on, let’s go home. The sun is going down.” Kuroo said, and it was, so that was that.

As they walked home, Kenma felt a question building up inside him, just like it had when he asked Kuroo if he wanted to play another game.

“Why don’t you look for people who can play volleyball? It must be boring playing with a total amateur like me, right?” Kenma was shocked for the second time that day when Kuroo whipped around so fast Kenma was worried about his neck as he faced him.

“It’s not boring at all! You’re a fast learner! You’re smart!” he declared. 

“Re-really?” was all Kenma could muster in reply, unused to being someone that people complimented, especially with such conviction.

“Yeah. I used to play in a team, but I moved . . .” Kuroo looked down, probably remembering something.

“Hmm, well if you tried looking here, I think there’d be somewhere right?” Kenma asked. Kuroo belonged with other people like him, other people that liked volleyball. Kuroo didn’t seem too excited about the idea, though, looking down as they started walking again.

“Say, are you free this Sunday?” He asked suddenly, throwing Kenma off again.

“Umm, yes?” What did Kuroo have in mind? More volleyball practice? But he didn’t dare ask because Kuroo was looking at him like he was a brand new video game and Kenma never wanted him to look any other way, so they walked home in companionable silence.

 

“Kenma, what happened to your arms?” His father asked at dinner that night.

“. . . Nothing. It’s nothing but a little internal bleeding.” Kenma said, feeling a little like Kuroo. His father looked confused, but his mother smiled.

“I saw Tetsurou-kun running through the house with a volleyball today.” She said in her way, offering Kenma a choice to speak or not. Today, he took her offer.

“Yeah, he used to play before he moved here and he tried to teach me some.”

“Oh? Was it fun?” His father tried to keep the surprise out of his voice, but Kenma could hear it.

“Mmm, kinda. Kuroo really likes it.”

“Well, I’m glad you two are getting along. It’s so hard to move in somewhere new and make new friends.” His mother said. She didn’t say that she was glad Kenma had made a friend, even though he wasn’t good at making friends, she had focused on all the good he was doing for Kuroo and not all the good Kuroo was doing for him. And for that, he was grateful for his mother.

 

That night, he was curled on his bed, playing Virtua Fighter against the computer, when outside his window he saw a light flashing behind his curtain. Was the street light flickering? He ignored it until he beat the computer, then slid off the bed and pulled back the curtain. From his window, he saw Kuroo sitting on his bed, clicking a flashlight on and off. When he saw Kenma, his face lit up and he waved. Kenma waved back, a little confused. He’d never been into Kuroo’s house. He didn’t know their windows faced each  
other. Kuroo pulled open his window, gesturing for Kenma to do the same.

“Kenma! Thanks for playing volleyball with me today.” He said and it sounded like he really meant it.

“Umm, you’re welcome.” Kenma said, not sure what else to say.

“When I came here, I was scared because I thought that Tokyo would be a big city full of people who don’t care about anyone, but you’re not like that. You tried volleyball with me. And you’re coming with me this Sunday to the student volleyball training so I don’t have to go alone. Kenma, you’re great! I’m glad we’re neighbors. I’m glad I met you. Anyway, goodnight!” Kuroo flashed a smile bigger than any Kenma had ever seen before as he closed his window and blinds, leaving Kenma stunned like he’d just walked outside after playing games in his dark room.

Kenma closed his window and slid back into bed, pulling the blankets around him and curling up. So apparently, he was going to a volleyball thing with Kuroo on Sunday. Apparently, Kuroo thought he was great. Apparently, Kenma loved Kuroo’s big, goofy smile. They were both glad Kuroo moved in next door.


	2. The Joy from Doing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma wasn’t used to going new places in general. So he waited. Waited for Kuroo. Their rhythm had changed into something faster, more exciting, more unpredictable, not as easy for Kenma to pick up, but he wouldn’t lose it, he couldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, guys! I love KuroKen so much and the new chapters are keeping me motivated

Kenma sat on his bed, controller in hand, but not playing. He didn’t want to start anything and have to leave it halfway. He was also nervous. He’d never gone out anywhere with Kuroo before, even if they’d started practicing volleyball some. This was entirely new for them and honestly, Kenma wasn’t used to going new places in general. So he waited. Waited for Kuroo. Their rhythm had changed into something faster, more exciting, more unpredictable, not as easy for Kenma to pick up, but he wouldn’t lose it, he couldn’t.   
“Kenma, Tetsurou-kun is here!” His mother called as she opened the door and Kenma started, not fully prepared to leave. He set down his controller and joined his mother and Kuroo at the door.

“Yes, a volleyball program.” Kuroo was saying, quiet, polite, entirely unlike the boy who had yelled at him from his window. 

“Well, I hope you two have fun.” She said as Kuroo turned to leave. Kenma stayed another second to put his shoes on and his mother crouched down next to him. She waited for him to look at her and when he did, he saw the question in her expression. Kenma considered a moment before nodding. He could handle this. He didn’t need his mother to give him a way out this time, but he loved her for asking. She kissed him on the top of the head before sending him out to Kuroo.

 

They stood side by side, staring at the closed door in front of them, sounds of the gym leaking through. Kenma glanced at Kuroo. His face was set, determined, but he wasn’t moving.

“Kuroo.”

“You ready? Let’s go. Let’s go!” Kuroo said, reaching up and pulling at the handle with both hands like it was a huge effort.

“Just go already.” Kenma said as the sounds of shoes squeaking and balls bouncing on the gym floor pushed forward and hit them in the face. The gym seemed huge and busy and bright and full. Kids their age practiced with adults and Kenma almost flinched away and left, but he glanced at Kuroo and saw all he needed to stay. Kuroo’s face was one of barely contained excitement, a crazy grin stretching across his face and his body was vibrating with energy. 

“Oh hello! You two must be here for the volleyball program. My name is Mr. Osaka. I can help you get sorted if you come over here.” Said a warm-looking man as he gestured for them to follow. ‘Getting sorted’ turned out to be checking if they could bump the ball or not, and doing a little practice with Mr. Osaka and a few other boys. He eventually sent them over to another trainer and the two of them stopped to admire some of the older boys.

“What’re they doing over there? It sure looks cool. Why don’t you go and do some of that?” Kenma asked as the boys hit the ball over the top of the net with so much power, his hand hurt just looking. 

“That’s called a spike! I know right, it’s so cool! But you gotta be tall to do it, or else you won’t be able to hit those.” Kuroo said, still excited and somehow not tired yet.

“All we gotta do is lower the net.” Said a nearby voice, causing them both to jump. The man was kinda old, but he stood like he was the master of the gym and the other trainers treated him special from what Kenma could see.

“Coach Nekomata?” One of the trainers asked, slightly confused.

“The ‘joy from doing’ should be what’s important, first and foremost. Those who love something will become skilled in it.” Coach Nekomata continued, glancing at Kuroo, then Kenma before moving on. Kuroo stood absolutely still for a moment, before turning to Kenma and grinning that goofy grin.

“Let’s spike it.” He said.

“You first.” Kenma said and he watched as Kuroo tried with a trainer. Again and again he failed to connect the ball to his hand, but he never stopped trying and he never lost motivation. Kenma was feeling tired already just standing on the sidelines, but he never took his eyes off Kuroo. He saw it when Kuroo finally managed to hit the ball with a satisfying smack and he saw the look on Kuroo’s face as he did so. It was not the grin he was expecting, but a look of immense concentration, his eyes alight with fire and victory. That look was turned on him an instant later as the two stared at each other across the gym. In that moment, Kenma knew that things had changed, Kuroo had changed. He didn’t know how, but he could feel it. 

“You’re turn?” Kuroo asked after a moment.

“No,” Kenma huffed, “I got tired from watching you.”

“What? I’m not even tired.”

“Then do it again.” Kenma said and it was a challenge. Kuroo let the corner of his mouth pull up, then went right back to the trainer, demanding to do it again, something that the Kuroo of a week ago would have never done. Yes, something had changed.

 

Kenma walked home side by side with an exhausted Kuroo. He was dragging his feet, but the fire in his eyes was still there, just underneath the surface. Kenma suspected it would be there from now on. 

“Kenma?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for coming with me today. I wouldn’t have gone without you.”

“I didn’t even do anything.”

“You did everything. You stayed with me. You saw me spike.”

“Hmm, I guess.”

“Kenma?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m gonna join a team.”

“Good, you should. You were cool today.”

“You think I’m cool?” Kuroo asked, teasing. Kenma looked away with a huff. Kuroo smiled, but didn’t say anything for a while. He finally broke the easy silence with “You should   
join with me. The volleyball team.”

“I don’t think so. I’m not very . . .” Kenma wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Good? Motivated? He wouldn’t have enough energy for it anyway.  
“But you are, Kenma!” Kuroo declared. Are what? Kenma wondered.

“I still don’t wanna join a team. You should, though.” Kenma said. Kuroo looked at him for a moment.

“I will and I’ll become skilled.” He said it so easily. Kenma smiled. Of course he would. He had that fire now. They walked home in comfortable silence.

 

“How was the volleyball program today?” His mother asked him at dinner.

“Is that what you did today?” His father didn’t even bother to hide his surprise this time.

“It was good. Kuroo actually spiked the ball a few times.”

“And you?” His father asked, too curious.

“I just bumped it a little.” He said, looking down to take a bite and letting his hair fall around his face.

“Well, I’m glad you could take Tetsurou-kun there. He must have been nervous to go alone.” His mother said, saving him again.

“And it seemed like he did very well.” His father pitched in.

“Mmm, I think he really liked it. Coach Nekomata said that people who love something will become skilled in it and I think Kuroo really does.” Kenma said.

“Nekomata . . . I think he’s the boys’ volleyball coach for Nekoma high.” His father said, “They’ve been doing very well recently, I hear.”

“Oh? Maybe you boys could learn a thing or two from him.” His mother said, and it didn’t escape Kenma that she had included both of them.

 

Later that night, as Kenma left the bathroom, he heard his parents talking in the kitchen and he couldn’t help but sneak closer, staying hidden in the hallway.

“–volleyball. I don’t know that much, but I can’t help feeling excited that he’s interested.” His father was saying.

“Don’t get too excited. I know you always wanted him to like baseball like you, but we should let him do what he wants. Tetsurou-kun is a great influence, but I don’t think Kenma will be joining a team any time soon.”

“But he liked it, the program today.”

“How can you be sure?”

“He would have left if he didn’t like it. You know how he is.” His father said and for once, it felt like his father knew him better than his mother.

“I guess you’re right.”

“I want to get him something to celebrate. I feel like this is cause for celebration.” His father chuckled.

“Celebration for you maybe. Your son finally has an interest in sports, but if you get him something, make sure it isn’t something that sits next to his baseball glove and collects dust.”

“You’re right. I’ll have to think about it.” Kenma could practically see his father run his hand through his hair.

“I’m so glad he has a friend.” His mother said.

“Me too, honey. I think it’s going to be a good year.”

 

And so Kuroo joined a volleyball team. And everything started to change. The biggest change was Kuroo himself. He was less quiet and withdrawn and more outspoken, more vibrant, and more obnoxious. He made more friends at school, even with kids not on his volleyball team. He started talking to lots more people, even about non-volleyball related things. At first, Kenma was worried. Would Kuroo stop hanging out with him now that he had more school and volleyball friends? Kenma didn’t want to join in with Kuroo’s new group. He’d rather start Metal Gear, but the anxiety stayed with him. His worry was short-lived, however, because there were no volleyball players in the neighborhood, and Kuroo still came over often. Sometimes, Kuroo would come over looking tired or quiet, the fire in his eyes small and Kenma would start up Virtua Fighter without a word. It was nice to know that their rhythm had not been entirely disrupted.

One night, as Kenma played Metal Gear before dinner, his door creaked open and he paused his game, expecting his mother to tell him to come to the table, but no, it was his father at the door. He was standing stiffly, holding something behind his back.

“Kenma, I know you’ve taken some interest in volleyball and I wanted to get you something, but I wasn’t sure what you would like. I thought that you might like to watch volleyball more than play it, so I had a friend of mine get you these.” He held out his hand, offering a few CDs. Kenma reached out, curious. ‘Japan vs Italy’ was written in marker on one and the other said ‘Brazil vs America’.

“What are these?”

“They’re recordings of professional matches from the national teams. My friend said that these two were particularly exciting.” His father said, proud of himself. Kenma was surprised that his father would think of such a kind thing to give him. Usually, his mother did the kind gift giving.

“I – thank you. I’ll watch these.” Kenma said, unsure of how to respond to his father’s excitement. 

“I’m glad. I hope – well, I hope you get something out of them. Your mother says dinner is in ten minutes.”

 

The next day, Kuroo barged into his room, which would have made him jump if he hadn’t heard the front door open a few seconds before. Kenma didn’t bother to look at him, though, because his eyes were glued to the screen in front of him. He’d seen both recordings his father had brought twice, but there was something about them that made him want to watch again. There was so much going on all the time, it felt like chaos, but the more he watched, the more he could see the carefully laid out plans.

“Are you watching volleyball?” Kuroo asked, jumping onto the bed beside him. Kenma didn’t need to answer. “Where did you get these?”

“My father.”

“Whoa cool!” Kuroo said, and then he just sat and watched with him. When the match was over, Kenma switched back over to the other one and Kuroo sat by his side. He didn’t question when Kenma switched back to the first match or back again. It was late when Kenma’s mother asked if Kuroo was staying for dinner and Kuroo and Kenma snapped out of their rhythm to let Kuroo go home. His mother didn’t say anything either, she just smiled.

 

Kuroo started bringing recorded matches over to Kenma’s house so they could watch them together. Kenma wasn’t satisfied until he had seen a match so many times that he could feel the plans underneath the chaos of the match. He loved picking up details that Kuroo missed.

“Did you see that play just now? Did you?” Kenma asked, pausing and rewinding the current match, “He looked over to his right and I thought he’d toss that way, but he ended up setting to the left.”

“Whaa? So cool!” Kuroo said as Kenma pointed out where to look.

“Hey, Kenma. I’m tired of just watching. Let’s go outside and play already.”

“Kuro,” Kenma said, dropping the last ‘o’ with a combination of familiarity and laziness, “You’re the one who brought these recordings over. Bring the stuff we watched last week over again.”

“Kenma, you gotta play as the setter!” Kuroo said right to his face, the fire in his eyes giving him determination, “You’re like a mastermind strategist, that’s so cool.” Kenma froze, the word ‘strategist’ striking through him. “Also, setters are in a position where they don’t need to move around much!” And so Kenma let himself be convinced to go outside that time. He got home late, arms covered in purple internal bleeding, but somehow satisfied. 

 

As Kenma trudged down the stairs for some water one Saturday afternoon, he heard his father call out to Kuroo. Kenma knew Kuroo usually went to the park on weekends, so he was probably just passing by.

“Hey, why don’t you bring Kenma along to play soccer every so often? Just a thought.” His father said. Kenma cringed a little bit and hid himself in the stairwell. 

“But I don’t think Kenma really wants to go.” Kuroo said after a moment, “I really understand the feeling of just not wanting to go someplace or do something. If I thought Kenma wanted to go, even a little bit, I’d definitely take him with me, but I don’t think Kenma feels that way. But once Kenma decides he likes something, he pours his soul into it. He’s gonna be alright.”

“. . . Is that so?” His father asked, sounding as surprised as Kenma felt. 

Water forgotten, Kenma turned and went back up to his room to think. It sounded like Kuroo knew him better than his own father, which honestly, wasn’t that much of a surprise. It sounded like Kuroo knew him better than his own mother, which was a surprise. He didn’t know Kuroo felt like he knew Kenma well enough to be making those big sweeping statements about him. Was it true? He didn’t know. What mattered was that Kuroo thought it was true. He was grateful that Kuroo had never asked him to go with him to play soccer, never made him turn down the offer. Maybe Kuroo knew him better than anyone else in the whole world. Kenma smiled to himself. If there was one person that knew him that well, he was glad it was Kuroo.


	3. Do Some Leveling Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Middle school started for Kuroo. But not for Kenma.
> 
> Or Kuroo protects Kenma and Kenma protects Kuroo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another midnight update! I hope you guys like it

They fell back into an easy rhythm. Kuroo was on a team, but he came over all the time and they would play games or watch recordings. Kenma didn’t want to be on a team, but he’d practice with Kuroo sometimes. Being friends with Kuroo was easy. Kenma wished that everything was that easy. School wasn’t easy. The actual school work wasn’t that hard, but everything else was. Kenma had never made a friend on his own. Kuroo was the only person he could call a friend, and he knew his parents had worried about him before Kuroo, but Kenma had never been good at making friends. He just didn’t like people that much. He did everything he could to avoid having to interact with them, keeping his hair long, sticking to the sidelines, but that was sometimes hard at school. Kids tended to notice him because he was loner. Their stares and comments pierced through the walls that he tried to put up. What did they think of him? Did they think he was weird? A coward? Unsettling? For some reason, he was always aware of other people even though he didn’t want them to pay attention to him. He cared about what they might think of him, even though it would be easier if he could find a way to not care. Kuroo didn’t have those problems because people actually liked him and he was a year ahead of Kenma.

Kenma dealt with this anxiety by sinking his teeth into Metal Gear, and, when he’d finished it three times, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The stories were compelling, if a little ridiculous, and he started going to sleep later and later until he realized one night that the sun had started to come up and he hadn’t gone to sleep. His mother also noticed.

“Kenma, you can’t start pulling all-nighters to play video games. You need to get your sleep, or you will become unhealthy.” His mother told him when she passed his room on her way to the bathroom in the middle of the night and noticed the glow from his TV under the door. Kenma huffed, but obeyed, going to bed at a more reasonable time from then on. He just had to find a better way to get in more hours of play. 

 

A few days later, Kuroo snuck into his room at 5 in the morning to find Kenma sitting in his usual gaming position, blanket over his head, playing Metal Gear 2.

“Kenma–”Kuroo began, making Kenma nearly leap out of his skin.

“Jesus! Kuro, you scared me.” He paused his game and tried to get his heart rate under control.

“Did you pull an all-nighter again? I thought your mom said you weren’t allowed to do that.” Kuroo continued as if he hadn’t just snuck into someone’s house in the dark hours of the morning.

“I just got up early to play. She can’t complain because I’m going to bed at night.” Kenma explained, a little annoyed, “And what are you doing here, anyway?”

“I was going for a run before school and I saw the light from your room. You look terrible, Kenma. Like a little cave troll sitting in the dark.” Kuroo, with his terrible new personality, flipped the light on causing Kenma to flinch and scowl in Kuroo’s general direction, temporarily blind.

“Turn it off.” Kenma managed.

“No. I’m telling your mom.”

“Don’t.”

“Gonna. She’s gonna be mad, too.”

“Don’t.”

“You need your sleep, Kenma. Your eyes are all red.”

“Because you blinded me.”

“Because you’re not getting enough sleep. I thought you loved sleep.”

“I like to do what I want.”

“Oh? Like play Metal Gear at 5 in the morning?”

“Exactly. Go for your run, Kuro.”

“Go to sleep, Kenma.” And with that, Kuroo turned and left, closing the door softly behind him. Kenma huffed and continued his game, leaving the light on out of spite.

 

“Kenma, Tetsu-kun told me the funniest thing today.” His mother began at dinner that night. Kenma braced himself. He knew where this was going. “He said he went for a run this morning and saw your light on at 5 am.”

“I was playing. I went to sleep at night, though. I just woke up early to play.” Kenma explained. He’d been mentally preparing for this conversation all day.

“Sweetie, I thought we had this conversation already. You need to sleep. If the games are getting in the way of your health, I won’t hesitate to take them. Do we need to count your hours of sleep now?” She said this all without looking at him, keeping her eyes on her food. His father stayed silent.

“But Kuroo gets up early to run.”

“Exactly. He gets up to exercise and he goes to sleep earlier than you.” She’d been ready for that one. Kenma wasn’t sure what to say next.

“Okay.” Was all he could manage. And so the conversation was over.

 

Life continued. Kenma started sleeping more and he hung out with Kuroo as much as possible, finding him between classes and during breaks. It helped a lot, having someone to hang out with, even just someone to stand next to. They ate their lunches together and Kuroo would come and find him if he got lost in a game and forgot to leave his classroom at lunch. It helped with the anxiety. He had someone. Someone that came to find him as much as he went to find them. Things were starting to look up for Kenma.

And then middle school started for Kuroo. But not for Kenma. Their year difference hadn’t really mattered that much before, but now that they didn’t go to the same school, Kenma was adrift with nothing to anchor him. Their easy rhythm stuttered again. So at school, he turned to video games as much as possible, trying to just survive until next year, when he’d be in the same school as Kuroo again. Kenma never said anything, of course, he didn’t want anyone to worry, but Kuroo knew something was wrong.

“It’s just a year.” Kuroo said one night, a few weeks into the school year. They were curled up in Kenma’s bed watching a stupid sci-fi movie about a giant squid. Kenma watched as the squid pulled a small boat under the water, dumping the passengers as it went. “You’ll be okay?”

“Of course. It’s just like before.” Kenma said. He’d always been alone at school before Kuroo moved in. He knew what to do: blend in, avoid as much as possible, look busy. But this was all before he knew what it was like to have someone by his side. Now the stark contrast was almost too much, but Kenma wouldn’t say anything. It seemed he didn’t have  
to.

“I guess I’m worried about you is all.” Kuroo said, curling into Kenma’s side and bumping Kenma with his knobby knees. He’d grown recently, gaining a few centimeters on Kenma. They’d almost been the same height for a while, but Kuroo had always been taller. Kenma’s mother said he’d grow too, but Kenma was still waiting for evidence.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a year.”

“I’ll come over all the time still. It will be mostly the same.” Kuroo promised.

“It better be.” Kenma said, unsure if he could handle it if Kuroo was wrong.

 

But Kuroo was right. It was mostly the same. Kuroo came home later than Kenma because the middle school was further away, but they still hung out and played games and practiced volleyball together. They actually got closer as the year went on, valuing their time together more. Kuroo would tell Kenma everything that was going on with his new school and the team and Kenma would listen, taking mental notes for next year. 

Apparently, Kuroo’s team wasn’t very good. They barely had enough people for a team and they lost a lot. Whenever Kuroo came into his room, pouting a little, Kenma would turn on a multiplayer game or start a stupid movie and wait. Wait for Kuroo to break the silence and tell him about his team’s loss. They hit Kuroo pretty hard. Kenma wasn’t sure if he could join a team that lost more than it won, but then again, he didn’t love volleyball like Kuroo did.

 

One day after school, Kenma was settling in to replay Metal Gear when Kuroo came into his room. Quiet. Kenma looked up to see what was wrong. Kuroo stood stiffly in the doorway for a moment before sitting down beside the bed and pulling a random manga from the shelf. Kenma could see Kuroo’s clenched jaw and shaking hands. He was trying not to cry. Kuroo had had a match today. Did he get wrecked? Kenma turned back to his game and waited for Kuroo to say something, but this time he didn’t. Kenma wasn’t sure what to do with this strange, dejected Kuroo. What would cheer him up? When Kenma lost a level, he usually went back and made sure he had all the equipment he needed to continue. He’d grind a bit to raise his level, or he’d – that was it.

“Do you wanna do some leveling up?” He asked with another glance Kuroo’s direction. Kuroo took a shaky breath and Kenma was worried he’d said the wrong thing, but . . .

“Yes.” Kuroo said, stronger than Kenma had expected. 

And so they practiced, hard. They practiced until the sun was setting and Kenma was more tired than he’d been in a long time, but he never said a word. He just kept tossing to Kuroo over and over without stopping and without speaking. They found a rhythm in it that was somehow nostalgic for Kenma. It made it easier to keep going.  
Eventually, Kenma missed an easy bump and his arms just fell to his sides. The two stared down at the ball between them, silent. 

“We lost today, Kenma.”

“I guessed.”

“We lost so bad. It was so easy for them to just beat us at every turn. I even had a few good spikes, but they had this libero and he just dug everything. I couldn’t get past him even if I got past the blockers. It was like he wasn’t even trying. It was just so easy for him.” Kuroo hiccupped, which made Kenma look up. Kuroo was crying quiet tears, and sucking in quick breaths.

“Kuro . . .” Kenma said, unsure what to say. Kuroo stood stiffly, fists at his sides. “Let’s go home.” Kenma picked up the ball and tugged on Kuroo’s sleeve, leading him away.  
Kenma led Kuroo into his house, still pulling on his sleeve. He didn’t think Kuroo was crying anymore, but he was too afraid to check. Unfortunately, they ran into his mother as they entered. 

“Oh boys, your back. Did you-” she took one look at Kuroo and stopped, “Is Tetsu-kun staying for dinner?”

“Yes.” Kenma said simply. Today, he was the one protecting Kuroo and nothing would be better for him than his mother’s cooking.

“Okay. I’ll set out another place.” Was the only reply. Kenma mentally thanked his mother as he toed off his shoes and tugged Kuroo into his room. He pushed him onto the bed and found Kuroo’s favorite sci-fi movie about a giant crocodile. Then, he curled up next to Kuroo and settled in to watch the movie. They must have fallen asleep like that because Kenma woke when his mother gently told them that dinner was ready. Kuroo sat up, his hair crazier than normal, and looked Kenma.

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

“I’m hungry.” Kuroo said, and everything went back to normal. Kenma smiled.

“Then let’s eat.”

 

“Is Tetsu-kun okay?” Kenma’s mother asked later that night, after Kuroo went home. The two of them were in the living room, watching a stupid game show as an excuse to be close.

“He will be. We were leveling up.”

“I’m so glad you were there for him. He needs you, you know.” She said. Kenma flicked his eyes up to her face. She was serious.

“I don’t think . . .” he trailed off, but she waited for him. “I don’t think he needs me. He’s strong.”

“I think he’s strong when he’s outside, but he doesn’t have to be strong when he’s around you. I think he can relax when he’s here and that’s valuable, Kenma. You are the place where he can be weak and it’s okay.” They sat together in the living room for another moment before his mother went to bed, kissing him on the head before she went, leaving Kenma alone in the living room with a lot to consider.


	4. A Whole Arsenal of Ultimate Attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Middle school for Kenma, and a taste of high school. 
> 
> A team, a fever, a speech, and a nemesis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I know this chapter took a while, but school started and sucked up all my time. Don't worry, though, I won't leave you high and dry, so here's another midnight update!
> 
> (This is mostly from chapters 29, 32, and 200 so spoilers for those chapters)

Time went on, in the way that time always does, and for Kenma, it felt like both the slowest and fastest year of his life. He was waiting, but he was content at the same time. When it was finally time for him to join Kuroo in middle school, he felt more prepared for the first day of school than he had maybe ever. The sense of relief to be in the same school again was palpable for both boys. Kenma showed it by relaxing at bit. Kuroo showed it by being annoying.

“You’re gonna join the volleyball team, right, Kenma?” Kuroo asked a few days before the new school year. The two were practicing in their favorite spot, trying to savor the last breath of break. 

“Umm, I don’t know.” Kenma said, winded even after such a short time.

“C’mon, you have to. Most of our players were third years and we’re a few short to have a full team.” Kuroo didn’t seem winded at all.

“It’s a lot of work.”

“But you’re so good and you’ve been practicing so much. You haven’t been on a team yet, but it’s so awesome.” Kuroo scooped up the ball and held it on his hip, eyeing Kenma. Kenma knew he was making what Kuroo called his “I hate people” face, but he couldn’t help it. “Don’t make that face. I’ll be there. Kenma, we could be on the same team.”

“I don’t know, Kuro. I’ll think about it.” Kenma couldn’t meet his gaze, but he meant what he said and Kuroo knew it. 

 

That night, at dinner, Kenma brought up his dilemma. 

“Kuro wants me to join the volleyball team.” He said moments before stuffing his mouth his food.

“When you start at the middle school? I think that sounds great.” His father said, totally on board.

“Do you want to?” His mother asked, carefully not looking at him.

“I don’t know.” He said.

“Why not?” She asked, still careful.

“I don’t want to be on a team. I just want to play volleyball with Kuro.”

“But you need a whole team to play real volleyball, right?” His father asked.

“You could try it, see if you like it first.” His mother suggested, primly lifting food to her mouth. Kenma paused. Could he really start and leave Kuroo halfway through, without a full team? He could if he really hated it. Kenma made a face. 

“Okay. I’ll try it.” Was all he said.

 

The team was small. There were only just enough members for full play. Kuroo was the tallest one there and Kenma was the shortest. The other kids weren’t particularly good, aside from Kuroo, but for some reason, Kenma felt out of his depth there. The coach was kind, but he worked them hard, especially the first years. Kenma didn’t hate it, but it was a near thing. He knew Kuroo knew, too. He could feel it. Kuroo would check in on him during practices and he stopped asking to practice after school. They would just go home, and Kenma, exhausted, would beat Kuroo at video games. They had a rhythm, but it wasn’t easy for either of them. Kenma was constantly tired and Kuroo was walking on eggshells around him, worried the smallest thing would make him quit.

 

One day, practice was particularly rough and Kenma could feel his body begin to fight him. He usually barely kept pace with the rest of the group as they ran laps as a cooldown, but today, he had fallen far behind. Kuroo noticed first and fell back to keep pace with him. Kenma was sucking in air, almost gasping as he tried to focus on his body.

“How ya doing?” Kuroo asked, quiet. Kenma couldn’t answer. He was beginning to feel light-headed, his body slowly slipping out of his control.

“Kuro . . .” was all he could say before his vision went black.

 

“No, he’s still asleep!” He heard someone say in a stage whisper. His mother?

“Kenma, Kenma!” and Kuroo burst into his room like usual, jumping onto the bed next to him.

“Tetsu-kun!” his mother scolded.

“They made me stay at school. I was so worried about you, Kenma.”

“Kuro . . . What happened?” Kenma was truly confused. He was in his bed, but how did he get there?

“You fainted at the end of practice. They took you to the nurse and called your mom. She took you home, but they made me stay at school for the rest of the day.” Kuroo said, showing more genuine emotions than Kenma had seen maybe ever.

“And now he has a bit of a fever, so you should go home now that you’ve seen him.” His mother said sternly. Kuroo chewed his lip and slowly stood. Kenma reach out to tug on his sleeve, a silent plea to both of them. Kuroo glanced at his mother and a moment passed before she sighed left, closing the door behind her. 

Kenma scooted over and Kuroo slid into bed beside him. They laid together for a moment before Kuroo spoke.

“I get it if you want to quit the team. I wouldn’t be mad or anything.” He said. Kenma already knew that. He wouldn’t have been mad even if this never happened. He never got mad at him.

“No, I can’t-” I can’t leave you, he thought. “I can’t quit now.” He tucked himself under Kuroo’s chin and the two didn’t speak anymore. 

 

Kenma continued with volleyball for the rest of the year. He’d sometimes get fevers after a hard practice, but he didn’t faint again. He could feel Kuroo’s watchful eye, though. His second year started and things got a little better. The coach had new first years to work hard and Kuroo depended on him to be a good setter. And he was a good setter. He’d gotten better at what sets worked best for different situations and he learned how to do a good dump shot. He and Kuroo started practicing together again, just the two of them. Kenma still hated sweating, but he hated losing more and nothing compared to when a play went well and Kuroo turned to him with that bright fire in his eyes before giving him a high five or a clap on the back. 

Kenma’s second year flew by faster than his first, maybe because he actually enjoyed parts of it. Kenma tried to let himself enjoy it all, but as his second year crept to a close, he   
could feel the future looming ahead of him. This was Kuroo’s third year, and Kenma would be left behind again. He wasn’t sure if Kuroo was thinking about it yet, but as the days passed, Kenma thought about it more and more.

 

“Kenma, let me try this. Set it like normal.” Kenma sighed, but did as he asked. Kuroo ran up like normal, then froze for a moment right at the net before leaping up to spike. His hand made a whooshing sound as he swung, failing to even touch the ball. It hit the ground and bounced a few times as Kuroo landed. Did he just get a leg cramp?

“Kuro, what was that?” Kenma asked. Kuroo spun around, that goofy grin on his face.

“A personal time difference attack! I saw it in the game I saw on TV yesterday. See, you run up, then fake like you’re going to jump, but instead you stop. Then, all the blockers bite on the fake, you jump up afterwards and spike.”

“Huh? That doesn’t make much sense. C’mon Kuro, stop trying all these weird new moves after you watch a game.”

“Huh? Why? If we try them and practice them a lot, then one day, we’ll be able to do them when nobody else can. We might not be able to pull them off now, but if we keep practicing all kinds of attacks, then by the time we reach high school, the two of us will have a whole arsenal of ultimate attacks.” Kuroo said dramatically. Had he been practicing his speeches too?

“Lame.” Kenma said.

“Haa? No it’s not!” Kuroo whipped around to face him.

“Yes it is.”

“Is not!”

“Is too.”

“Is not!”

“Is too.”

“Hey Kenma?”

“What?”

“Are you going to quit after I graduate?” The straightforward question threw Kenma off for some reason. Apparently, Kuroo had been thinking about it too.

“Umm, I’m not sure. Probably. You won’t be there and no one else really likes me . . .”

“I understand if you want to quit, but promise me you’ll join up again when you get to high school.”

“Okay, I promise.”

 

Kuroo went on to high school and Kenma was left alone again. He quit the team before the year began. No need to get anyone’s hopes up. Somehow, being without Kuroo was even more crushing than it had been before middle school. An unavoidable silence was encompassing every moment he was at school. He noticed every single day that no one came looking for him. He felt every single lunch that he ate alone. He felt his chest compress every time he saw a group of friends talking or eating together. He wanted to curl up and disappear. He pretended to be fine when he was at home, and it wasn’t too hard. A lot of the pressure was off when he was at home, so whenever Kuroo or his mother asked him if he was doing alright, he could sound convincing enough. Or so he thought.

 

Kenma was curled up on his bed, playing Metal Gear Solid. He’d finished his homework already and he was kind of waiting for Kuroo to come over, but not sure if he would. So he heard when the front door opened quietly downstairs and a muffled conversation began between Kuroo and his mother. Unable to help himself, Kenma slipped out of his room and down the steps, pausing before the last one.

“He’s more depressed than last time.” Kuroo said, all seriousness.

“I know. He’s trying to act like he’s fine, but I can see it.” His mother responded. Kenma was a little surprised by the conversation’s tone. His mother wasn’t speaking to Kuroo like   
he was her son’s friend, she was speaking to him like he was her son.

“I can’t image what school’s like for him right now.” Kuroo said.

“He must just be waiting to come home every day.” His mother said, but Kenma had heard enough. He continued into the living room and met Kuroo’s eyes over his mother’s   
shoulder. Kuroo had really grown the past summer, increasing their height difference even more. Right now, that height was annoying because Kenma had to look right at Kuroo as he spoke.

“I’m fine.” He said and his mother spun around to face him. She looked a little guilty, but mostly worried. Kuroo’s face was a carefully placed blank mask that unnerved Kenma down to his core.

“Kenma, did you hear us? We’re just a little worried about you. I hate the thought that you are so lonely at school.” She said, trying to cover her embarrassment at being caught.

“I’m fine. It’s only a year. And Kuro comes over all the time anyway. Just like before.” Kenma said. For some reason, it was important to him that they thought we was okay. He   
couldn’t have these people, the two most important people in his life, expending energy on him. He wouldn’t make them worry.

His mother pursed her lips, then sighed, “Okay. I don’t know if you are fine, but I know you will be fine and that’s enough for now.” She kissed him on the forehead then ruffled Kuroo’s hair as she left the room.

“I’m not depressed.” Kenma said, desperate to get rid of that horrible mask Kuroo was still wearing.

“Okay.”

“You don’t believe me.”

“No.”

“Then I guess you have to come over every day to see.”

“I guess I will.”

“You’re lame.” Kenma said, turning to go back to his room.

“Am not!” Kuroo said, thrown off, but the mask was gone and Kenma hid a smile as Kuroo trailed him up the stairs, arguing with him the whole way.

 

Kenma’s life didn’t change much after that, but it seemed like Kuroo’s did. He burst into Kenma’s room after school almost every day complaining about a boy named Yaku. Apparently Yaku was the most disagreeable person in all of Japan, which Kenma found hard to believe because he thought Kuroo held that position.   
The first day Kenma heard about him, Kuroo had come bursting into his room like usual and started spouting angry nonsense before finally forming real words.

“He’s this short little monster and I swear I almost had a heart attack when I saw him because I recognized him, Kenma. He’s that beast of a libero that dug everything I threw at him that time we lost really bad, you remember?”

“Yeah.” How could he forget?

“Anyway, he comes into the room with the other first years and I’m like ‘I remember you’ and he’s like ‘oh really? I don’t remember destroying your team back in middle school.’ I almost punched him right there, but there was this other guy there and he seemed nice so I didn’t.” Kuroo continued. Kenma tried to image Kuroo punching someone, but he couldn’t quite do it.

 

The stories about Yaku never really stopped after that. According to Kuroo, Yaku did everything he could to annoy him. They didn’t have a single thing in common aside from their mutual hatred. Kenma kind of wanted to meet him, just to see who could make Kuroo so annoyed. He started looking forward to listening to Kuroo talk about him. He was so animated and honestly, it was hilarious to think about Kuroo arguing with an apparent midget with anger issues.

“Don’t laugh at me, this is serious.” Kuroo said, but Kenma only turned his head, shifting his hair into his face. “I can still hear you laughing.” He pouted.

“You must have something in common.” Kenma managed with a straight face and Kuroo paused.

“Today we had an icebreaker for the new team members. We all introduced ourselves and the coach asked us what our goals were. Both of us said ‘go to nationals’ at the same time and I guess that makes sense. We’re the best first years and as much as I hate him, Yaku is a good libero.” He looked down, thoughtful and Kenma took a second to look at him. In that moment, Kuroo seemed older, more mature and their one year age difference seemed more significant.

 

After that, they fell back into an easy rhythm. Kenma didn’t like going to school, but he liked when Kuroo came over and ranted about Yaku or talked about something new he learned that day. Kenma was mostly content to wait the year out. He wanted to join Kuroo in high school. The prospect would have been scary without him, but he knew Kuroo would always be there, waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Kenma does a lot of eavesdropping, doesn't he? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	5. Willpower and Daydreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo is reintroduced to an old friend. Kenma starts high school, but it's not quite what he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Time for another midnight update. Enjoy!
> 
> (This is almost entirely from chapter 266)

Halfway through Kuroo’s first year, Nekoma had a practice match against a powerhouse school. Kuroo would not shut up about it for an entire week before the match.

“It’s just a practice match.” Kenma said, as they played Mario Kart on Kenma’s Wii. Kenma liked playing with a nunchuk, but Kuroo always played wheel. For some reason that Kenma could never figure out, Kuroo always won.

“Yeah, but Fukurodani is such an amazing school. I want to see how we compare.” Kuroo said, a good two turns ahead of Kenma.

“You’re probably gonna lose if they’re a powerhouse. Unless they play their first-years.” Kenma tried not to show his annoyance at losing again. He quit to the main menu to choose another character.

“But if we play the first years, those are the ones that we’ll see the most. I mean, the third-years are all gonna graduate. We’ll only see them this year.” Kuroo chose Waluigi, the only character he ever chose. He would pick different bikes, but he only ever played as that purple noodle goblin.

“Still, though. They probably have powerhouse first-years.” Kenma chose a different set-up every time, hoping to find the magic combination that would grant him victory. He only wanted a single victory. This time it was Toad in the Tiny Titan.

“Can’t you just say ‘Do your best, I’m sure you’ll win!’ like a normal friend?” Kuroo said, with just a hint of annoyance. Kenma turned to him, game forgotten on the level select menu.

“Because I never lie to you, Kuro.” Kuroo stared back at him for a moment, something flickering behind his eyes, before he turned away.

“Let’s play Daisy Circuit.” 

“Okay.”

 

Kuroo burst into his room that night while Kenma was playing Mario Kart by himself, trying to figure out why he could never beat Kuroo. Kenma paused it and glanced at Kuroo, trying to read him.

“Did you win?” Kenma asked cautiously. Kuroo didn’t have his usual, ‘I just lost and I need Kenma to distract me’ face.

“No, but Kenma, Bokuto was there, he plays for Fukurodani!” Kuroo declared, climbing onto the bed next to Kenma.

“Bokuto?” The name sounded familiar for some reason. Kuroo had mentioned that name before. Someone he knew before he moved in next door?

“Yeah, we used to be classmates. We haven’t talked since I moved here. He was a really good spiker back then and he’s even better now. He totally crushed us. It was awesome.   
He’s so awesome. I want to block him.” Kuroo had that fire in his eyes.

“Yeah?” Kenma asked, his throat feeling kind of stuffy.

“Yeah, I saw him get off the bus and I couldn’t believe it was him. He’s kind of buff now. I hadn’t seen him in so long, but he saw me and immediately recognized me. He ran over   
and crushed me with a hug. We exchanged numbers after the game and we’re gonna meet up this weekend and catch up.” Something about the way Kuroo said all this made Kenma’s insides curl up. He never really talked about people from before he moved, but he remembered Kuroo talking about Bokuto. Kenma couldn’t remember Kuroo ever talking about someone else like the way he was talking about Bokuto. 

“Oh.” Was all Kenma could croak out. Kuroo noticed. He eyed Kenma, falling silent.

“Kenma? You okay?” Kenma tried to get his breathing under control.

“Yeah, I just . . . you. Bokuto seems.” Kenma couldn’t find the words to explain himself.

“Are you? Kenma, are you jealous?” Kuroo wasn’t making fun. Not this time.

“I’m not.” Kenma said before taking a second. Was he? Was jealousy the twisted feeling in his gut? 

“Kenma, you are too smart to be this stupid.” Kuroo said plainly. Kenma stared at him, stunned. “What? You think I’m going to drop you the second I meet a new friend? Yeah, I knew Bokuto before I knew you, but you know you’re my best friend, right. You will always be my best friend.” Kuroo’s simple declaration was laced with a bit of disbelief, like he couldn’t understand why Kenma would feel this way. He would never understand Kenma’s dread at knowing that Kuroo would always leave him behind.

“But what if you-”

“No,” Kuroo interrupted, “Kenma, do you have any idea how I spend every year I move on? I sit there during lunch or in practice wishing you were there. I find that I always relate stuff back to you. Yaku told me one time that he needs to meet you because I talk about you so much. I can’t wait for next year so we can be in the same school again.”

“I – you. I can’t wait to meet Yaku either. I need to meet anyone who can make you that annoyed.” Kenma said, chest uncoiling.

“Hey, now. Why don’t you drop me in and me and Waluigi can see who gets annoyed. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you get every time you lose, which is, oh yeah, every single   
time.” Kuroo said, smirking his horrible smirk.

“It makes no sense, Kuro. Your stupid, purple noodle goblin should not win every time. I’ve tried so many different combinations.”

“Don’t bully my noodle goblin. Have you considered that you suck at Mario Kart?”

“Impossible.”

“Then maybe I’m a god-tier Mario Kart player and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

“Let’s find out.”

And so they played Mario Kart late into the night and Kuroo and Waluigi never lost.

 

Kuroo and Bokuto became fast friends and Kenma learned that their friendship was very different from Kuroo and Kenma’s. Kuroo would come home after spending some time with Bokuto and tell stories about how the two of them did something stupid. Kenma quickly lost his feeling of jealousy, the stories Kuroo told about Bokuto too ridiculous to take seriously. The year finally, finally came to an end and Kenma and Kuroo spent another summer together. Kuroo became almost obsessed with “getting Kenma ready for volleyball” which mostly included practicing a lot so Kenma didn’t get fevers during his first year of high school. Kuroo became increasingly excited as the summer went on. He kept talking about the team Kenma would soon meet and how Kenma would fit into the team.

 

His first year finally started, and Kuroo seemed more excited than he was. Kenma met Yaku and Kai, the “nice guy” Kuroo had mentioned once or twice. Yaku did not disappoint. He was short, but he acted like someone much taller. And Kenma liked anyone who could so easily go toe to toe with Kuroo.  
Unfortunately, Kenma wasn’t the only first year joining the volleyball team. There were two others. One was a strange boy who always looked surprised and had a weird way of speaking. The other was going to be a nuisance, Kenma could tell. He was loud and confrontational and everything Kenma tried to avoid.

 

Nothing significant happened in volleyball practice until the first-years started to get settled into the routine of practice. The boy who always looked surprised mostly kept his head down and was generally pleasant, but the other boy, the loud boy with a Mohawk, he was not so pleasant. There weren’t any incidents or major events that happened to make Kenma hate him, no, it was mostly every little thing that he did. And it seemed that the feeling was mutual. 

It wasn’t unusual for Kenma to completely zone out while the team went for a run. He hated running in general, and did anything he could to distract himself. That usually meant daydreaming and imagining video game enemies and possible stages in the world around him. On this particular day, he had created a few dragons from different games that were swimming in the river alongside him. He noticed a building covered in vines and immediately thought of a Zelda game. He could use the hook shot to get up there. There had to be a treasure chest at the top.

“WILLPOWER!!” The yelling startled him out of his thoughts. The boy with the Mohawk (Yamamoto Tora . . . Tora something?) was charging past him, screaming about willpower. Unfortunately, he turned his attention to Kenma. “Oh my god, you’re so slow! You’re a lap behind! Show me what you’re made of!” He demanded and continued with his aggressive pace. Kenma felt himself immediately shut down. Willpower? What a stupid thing to believe in. What did that even mean? It was so cliché without even meaning anything. Kenma’s barely tolerated the rest of his run. 

 

The days went on, and Kenma’s dislike of Yamamoto did not fade. His frustration did not end with the one boy, however, because there was another threat to Kenma’s desire for inaction: the third-years. They were horrible. All of them. They were the kind of people who got a taste of power and loved using it to make other people’s lives miserable. These were the kind of people who became tyrant kings in games and manga. They forced the first-years to do all the cleanup at the end of practice, even though it would go faster if everyone helped out. They yelled at him every time he noticed something in a game and tried to point it out. They even made him run almost twice as much as the others as ‘punishment for being a smart-mouth’.

All of this compounded with his dislike of Yamamoto and it made him question why he was even working so hard. Yeah, he was with Kuroo again and they spent a lot of the day together, but it would be okay if he just saw him at school and not at practice, right? But Kuroo had been so excited to be on the same team again.

 

He asked his mother while he helped her with the dishes one night.

“What do you think Kuro would do if I quit the team?” He asked, taking a plate she handed him and beginning to dry it.

“I think he would be sad, but it would depend on why you quit.” She said easily, no judgement in her voice.

“The third years suck and I don’t really like the other first-years.”

“None of them?”

“Well, I guess Fukunaga is okay. He’s kind of weird, but kind of funny in a way.”

“So there’s one. And the third-years won’t be there forever. I thought you were excited to be playing with Kuroo again.”

“I was, but everything else sucks. I don’t want to quit on him, but I don’t,” he paused, unsure, and she waited for him, quietly cleaning dishes and handing them to him. “I don’t know what he’ll think.”

“Maybe you should ask him. If he knows about the problems, then maybe he can help, because we both know all he wants is for the two of you to play together.” She turned away,   
drying her hands on a towel before passing it to him. She smoothed her hand down his hair as he held the towel. “Don’t hide from him. He must know you’re frustrated right now.   
Tell him.” She kissed his forehead before telling him to get ready for bed.

 

For some reason, this advice wasn’t easy for Kenma to follow. He didn’t want to see Kuroo try to hide his disappointment with Kenma if Kenma told him he was going to quit the team. So, practice went on and Kenma tried to avoid Yamamoto as much as possible, sticking close to Kuroo. Yamamoto noticed.

“Kozume,” he said in a tone that irritated Kenma, “Even if Kuroo-san is like family to you, I’m not goin’ easy on you.”

“. . . What? How’s whether Kuro is acquainted with me or whatever relevant to any of this? We’re doing drills for 1-on-1 passes, right?” Yamamoto didn’t seem to like this answer, because he turned away with a huff before continuing the drill, but this time, something was different. He seemed to be working really hard, trying to force Kenma into giving up or something. Well, Kenma could play that game too. As Yamamoto smashed a ball in what he intended to be a kill, Kenma slid into position and received. The next time Kenma spiked, he smashed it, forcing Yamamoto to dive forward to receive. Kenma knew it was stupid, but the other first-year just annoyed him so much. As they all took a water break, Kenma could feel Kuroo’s eyes on him and glanced up to meet them. Unable to hold the gaze, he quickly looked back down, letting his hair fall to cover his face.

Of course Kuroo brought it up as they walked home that night. 

“Soooo, how about you start putting in some effort to get along with others?” He said in that Kuroo tone of his.

“. . . He started it . . .”

“Mmm, I mean, I do like the style of returning the favor when someone tries to pick a fight, but . . . Look, I’m not telling you to pretend to be civil or anything, but you guys are in the same grade, you know? You’ll be stuck with each other for a long time to come.” Kenma didn’t respond and the two walked in silence.

“He’s annoying.” Kenma said, just as they turned onto their street.

“I know, but don’t get in any more fights, okay?”

“That wasn’t a fight.”

“It was a Kenma fight.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means that the bar for a fight is low with you so today counts as a fight.”

“What? Does not.”

“Does to.”

“Does not.”

“Does to.” Kuroo said, turning away from Kenma to go to his own house. Kenma waited until the last moment before he closed the door.

“Does not.” 

“Does to!” Kuroo yelled through the door. Kenma smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The working title for this chapter was Purple Noodle Goblin. Just thought you all should know.
> 
> I thought I was going to get through all of Kenma's first year in this one, but I forgot about Bokuto and he just ruined my whole plan. Dang it, Bokuto! Why you gotta introduce conflict when you aren't even there?
> 
> There's a lot to unpack in Kenma's first year, so I don't expect to get to his second year next chapter. It's all gonna be baby first-year Kenma


	6. The Kuroo Whisperer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on, but things come to a boiling point between Kenma and Yamamoto and Kuroo meets a nemesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, it's been almost a whole month since my last update. I am so sorry guys, but midterms and ugh. University is kicking my butt right now. Anyway, here's a pretty good size chapter for another one of my midnight updates
> 
> (All from chapter 266)

Life continued, but everything seemed slower to Kenma. Every day was hard and even though Kuroo was there with him, he couldn’t fix all of Kenma’s problems. The third-years continued to single him out for some reason. Kuroo said they were intimidated by his game sense, but Kenma knew that Kuroo didn’t have a problem with the third-years when he started high school. He began to despise the word ‘senpai’. After all, a senpai was just someone who was born a year or two before him. Why did they get the automatic authority to lord over people? Why did he have to listen to the words of complete tyrants that he had absolutely no respect for? His frustration grew. It didn’t help that he was still at odds with Yamamoto too. He watched the other overwork himself consistently. There was no way Yamamoto’s pace was sustainable, but Kenma wouldn’t say anything. 

 

Kuroo was beginning to catch on to the depths of Kenma’s despair. He’d been thinking about quitting the team more and more and Kuroo could tell. Kenma could feel him watching him more closely. When Kuroo asked him to their usual spot by the river, Kenma went without question, but he had a feeling about what was coming. He sat down on the grass and curled into himself.

“You’re a keen observer.” Kuroo began, “And everything you suggest makes sense.”

“But I don’t wanna say anything. Every time I do, the third-years all tell me not to be a smart-mouth. They even made me run twice as much as the other rookies yesterday.” He felt miserable, because he had to run more, because he was looked down on, but mostly because he was being singled out. There was nothing worse than standing out for a person like Kenma. 

“Those third-years are all going to retire from the club soon. And rumor has it that coach Nekomata may be coming back. So no quitting, okay? The third-years don’t have a clue, but the rest of us know how good you are. You’ll be an asset to the team. I know you will.” Kenma didn’t say anything for a long time. Kuroo sat down on the grass next to him and waited.

“It’s hard.” He said finally.

“I know, but please stick it out. I-I need. The team needs your insights and your skill. You are so much better than even the beginning of the year. Your sets are near perfection and your dump shots scare me every time.”

“Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“Okay I won’t quit. But not for the team. For you.” Kenma said, staring into the water flowing lazily. Kuroo glanced at him quickly out of the corner of his eye.

“Okay.”

 

A little while later, they had a practice match with Kasumi High, a trade high school not too far away. Kenma didn’t feel particularly interested in the match itself, but Yamamoto was acting strange. He made a lot of errors that he usually didn’t make and he even went for a set that was obviously meant for Kuroo. The two crashed into each other mid-air and both stumbled as they landed. Kuroo looked at Yamamoto questioningly, and Yamamoto immediately began to apologize, but Kenma could tell that Kuroo just wanted to know what was going on with him. Kenma could see, though. Yamamoto was nervous. He saw this as an ‘important practice match’ and felt the need to perform well, so he was over-aggressive and ended up causing more problems. His shoulders were stiff, his timing was off, and his demeanor was affecting the whole team. 

They won, but barely.

“Oi, nice toss, Kozume!” Yaku said as he came up to him after the match. Kenma, surprised, didn’t respond.

“Yeah, it was stable and easy to hit. Pretty darn good for your first practice match.” Kai joined in.

“Nice guts to go for those nasty receives too.” Yaku complimented, high praise from the libero.

Kenma noticed that Yamamoto was not very happy with himself. He was sitting by himself, obviously upset. As they moved to clean up, Kuroo tried to cheer him up.

“There, there. That was your first match, its normal.” He said, giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder.

“Yeah.” Yamamoto said tersely, responding because he had to.

 

Later, back in their own gym, the first-years cleaned up and Kuroo’s words about getting along with the others were echoing in his ears. He chanced it as Yamamoto passed him while leaving the supply room.

“Um, uh, Yamamoto-kun, maybe it’d help if . . . you relaxed the power in your shoulders a bit . . ?” He tried. Yamamoto was silent for a tense moment.

“Easy for you to say. As if it’s so easy to do!” He was getting angry, “I’m trying to put what I’ve worked hard for into practice, you think it’s easy to just let go and relax? Whatever! Anyway, I just don’t have enough willpower, so just back off.” And that was it. Kenma was done trying to be nice. Yamamoto’s entire philosophy was ridiculous.

“I think you should stop being hung up on broad, abstract concepts like willpower and whatever and start actually thinking about the problem in more precise, tangible terms.” Kenma said, as steadily as possible. Yamamoto looked even angrier for a second before looking away.

“I was too hyper-aware of the ball! I got riled up by the opponent’s taunts! I tried too hard to score from those difficult angles!” So he did realize what he was doing.

“If, if you know all that, then why do you write it all off as an issue of ‘willpower’?”

“Well, the origin of the issue is that I didn’t work hard enough or didn’t have enough willpower and dedication during our training sessions, right?”

“All of your running and weight training isn’t you trying to ‘work hard’, you’re just doing it for your own ego and self-satisfaction.” That sure surprised him, but it was exactly what Kenma had seen him doing. In an instant, Yamamoto was right in front of him, gripping Kenma’s jacket front and lifting.

“How about you then?! How many balls have you just not bothered to chase!” Kenma was shocked for a moment, but he couldn’t argue with Yamamoto’s point there . . . But he was tired and they would have been chance balls for the other side anyway. And they were starting to attract attention. Yamamoto wasn’t done. “If you can’t even be motivated during training sessions, then it’s gonna be the same deal during matches, right?! An unmotivated person like you has no right to talk about what willpower is!” Kenma was done. Done with Yamamoto and his ideals. So Kenma did something he hadn’t done in a long, long time. He got right in Yamamoto’s face.

“Cut it out with THE WILLPOWER CRAP! It’s vague and meaningless. Physical strength isn’t the only thing that matters!!”

“Haa? Stop talking about stuff I can’t understand!” Both of Yamamoto’s hands were bunched in Kenma’s jacket now and Kenma went to push at his head. Yamamoto shook him violently and suddenly, both of them were soaking wet. What? They glanced to the side and there stood Fukunaga, holding a bucket. He’d splashed them?

“Take it easy, Dostoyevsky.” He said, like that was a normal thing to say. Yamamoto spluttered.

“Huh? You? What even? How am I supposed to respond to that? Dos-dos what does that even mean?” As Yamamoto tried to get his head around what happened, Kenma kept staring at Fukunaga and suddenly, it was funny. This stupid situation was hilarious. A little burst of laughter bubbled up and escaped him.

“Fukunaga, you’re pretty funny.” He said, surprising everyone in the room. Oh god, everyone was looking at them and Kenma was dripping on the gym floor. Yamamoto was still making noise and Kenma noticed when Kuroo came back from . . . where had he been? He sighed.

“It’s been a while since I raised my voice like that.” He said. He could feel Kuroo’s question from the other side of the gym. He’d tell him later.

 

Kenma and Kuroo walked home after practice, Kenma’s wet clothes bunched up in a plastic bag hanging between them. Kenma could feel Kuroo’s questions, but he wasn’t asking them. Kenma didn’t really feel like explaining, but he did anyway just to stop Kuroo’s eyes from landing on him.

“Yamamoto got angry when I tried to give him advice. He was talking nonsense about willpower. I had had enough so I kinda yelled back at him.”

“That’s what you meant by raising your voice.” Kuroo said, nodding.

“That’s what you picked up on there?”

“Well, I saw this coming months ago. Yaku thought it would take longer, but I knew you were at you’re wit’s end already.

“You and Yaku talked about this?”

“I mean, your senpais have to keep an eye on their kohais, right? Make sure the team is working together.” Kenma rolled his eyes.

“Of course, senpai.” He said sarcastically, expecting Kuroo to laugh. But he didn’t. His eyes widened and he ducked his head away. Kenma gazed up at him, confused by the   
reaction, but then Kuroo snorted his ugly snort that he didn’t like anyone else to hear and chuckled, but it sounded strange, strained. 

“So how did you end up with this?” Kuroo asked, kicking the bag of clothes still swinging between them. Kenma let the distraction happen.

“Fukunaga dumped a bucket of water on us after we started really yelling and Yamamoto grabbed my shirt. Stopped everyone dead in their tracks.”

“He what?”

“I guess it worked.” Kenma shrugged. Kuroo shrugged back. They walked home in what should have been a comfortable silence, but Kenma still felt kind of weird about the look Kuroo had when he’d called him ‘senpai’.

 

After the incident with Yamamoto, Kenma began to put a little more effort into his game. To be more specific, he put more effort into not losing. He hated losing anyway, but now, he had someone to not lose to. A boss, no, more like a mini-boss to defeat. He still tried to slack off some, but Kuroo’s eagle eye would always catch him somehow. The team was good anyway, and they went to qualifiers where Kenma really started to appreciate that Yamamoto was on the same side of the net as him. He’d never tell him to his face, but Yamamoto was strong, and he had good volleyball instincts.

Nekoma did well at the qualifiers, something that didn’t surprise Kenma, but seemed to surprise everyone else. They were strong, and they were starting to listen to his advice during games.

“Kenma.” Yamamoto said, drawing his attention. Kenma didn’t like this, it already felt like confrontation.

“Y-yes?”

“Feel free to call me ‘Tora’. It’s what my friends call me.” He said. Kenma was shocked for a moment, before he regained his composure.

“Do I have to . . . ?” He asked. He had a hard time thinking about calling him Tora and were they even friends? Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because Yamamoto got angry again and grabbed his jacket. Fukunaga was there in an instant with a bucket of water (somehow??) and the two broke apart quickly.

“I guess, I guess I’ll call you Tora then.” Kenma admitted reluctantly, but Yamamoto seemed pleased.

 

The next day, they played Nohebi Academy and Kenma could tell immediately that they were going to be a problem. They had a second year that stood out to Kenma. Number fifteen was talented, but Kenma couldn’t put his finger on exactly why his play stood out. He also had Kuroo’s full attention. Kenma could only watch as they two became more and more antagonistic towards each other as the match wore on. They started swapping challenges, then insults. Kenma tried to keep focused by turning his attention to Yama . . . Tora, who was having an excellent game, not that Kenma would ever say it out loud.

When Kuroo’s feud started to draw the attention of the rest of team, Kenma knew he had to step in. 

“Kuro, you’re distracting the team. Stop it.” He said, tugging on Kuroo’s sleeve. Kuroo glanced down at him. 

“He’s an asshole, Kenma. I can’t lose to him.” Kuroo glanced over Kenma’s head to watch him. Kenma sighed and went to stand so Kuroo couldn’t see him.

“I need you to never say that again.” Kenma said quietly, forcing Kuroo to pay attention to him.

“What? Say what?” Kuroo said, leaning down a bit.

“That you can’t lose to someone. Last time I counted, there were six people standing on this side of the net.” Kenma said. He had never had to re-focus Kuroo before, so he hoped he said the right thing. As it turned out, he did.

“Right.” Kuroo said, breathing out slowly.

“Yeah, Kuroo, get your head out of your ass and play with us!” Yaku called from a few feet away.

“Hey!”

“C’mon, Kuroo. Number fifteen has your number, but you can’t drag us all down with you.”

“Yaku!” Kuroo cried, indignant, but Yaku had already turned away.

“Alright, nice serve, Tora!” And the game went on. With Kuroo’s newly centered head, they started to pull away slowly but surely.

When the game was over, they all stood in a circle while the coach and third-years talked about the results. Kenma didn’t pay them any attention, though he was focused on Kuroo, who seemed a bit off now that the match was done. He hadn’t responded to number fifteen’s parting remarks, instead turning away not only from the taunt, but from his own team. Kenma was about to go to him when Yaku approached him.

“Hey, Kozume-kun. Thanks for pulling Kuroo back down to earth back there.”

“Uhh, yeah.”

“You’re like our designated Kuroo whisperer. You have no idea what it was like to have to play with him when you weren’t around. He would get so wrapped up in one little detail   
that he would almost become useless.” Yaku said. Kenma tried to image a world where Kuroo played so badly that only Kenma could pull him out of it. Yaku seemed to think it was   
impossible to pull him out when Kenma wasn’t around. “Anyway, let’s go clean up. We have another game after lunch.”

“Um, Yaku-san?” Kenma asked before he could regret it. Yaku spun.

“Hmm?”

“Could you please just call me Kenma?”

“Oh yeah? Sure. C’mon let’s go, I’m hungry.” Kenma liked Yaku. He didn’t make things a big deal like Tora did. He smiled a little and followed the libero to join up with the rest of   
the team.

 

That night, they all laid in bed, exhausted but victorious. When Kenma was fairly certain everyone else was asleep, he rolled off his palate and onto Kuroo’s.

“Hey.” Kuroo said softly, scooting back to give him room.

“Hey. What happened today with that Nohebi number fifteen?” He asked. Kuroo sighed.

“Um, I guess he just got to me. He knew what to say and he got under my skin. I’m still not sure if he was cheating or not.” Kenma could tell that Kuroo’s mind was going a million   
miles an hour.

“Stop.” Kenma said, putting his hand on Kuroo’s forehead.

“What?” Kuroo’s voice had laughter in it.

“Stop thinking about it. We move on now. Together as a team.” Kenma said. Kuroo moved Kenma’s hand away from his face and touched their foreheads together.

“Yeah, as a team.” He whispered. Kenma yawned and Kuroo tucked him under his chin, just like they did at home. Kenma fell asleep thinking that maybe Yaku was right. Maybe he   
was the Kuroo whisperer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, number fifteen is none other than my snake boy, Daishou Suguru
> 
> Next up: a little Bokuto, a little Akaashi, and a little birthday surprise


	7. Good Surprise, Bad Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nationals and a birthday surprise, or Kuroo makes some good choices and some bad choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, thank you guys for sticking around. This took me so long to write, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!

They qualified for nationals. Kuroo was excited because they had done really well and he would get to see Bokuto again. Kenma was not so excited to have to work so hard, but he was interested in meeting the person that seemed to turn Kuroo into a little kid. The entire team seemed more excited, more dedicated. Kenma liked the idea of winning more games, and he really liked the idea of seeing Kuroo’s ‘we won’ face a few more times. 

 

Nationals. Just being there was kind of overwhelming. There were so many people milling around and all of them towered over Kenma. He stuck close to his team, close to Kuroo as they moved through the crowd. He felt off balance and disoriented. His hand reached out of its own accord and held on to Kuroo’s jacket, just to have something to hold. Kuroo glanced down at him, but didn’t say anything. Eventually, they settled down in some remote gym corner and coach told them to start stretching. Kenma could do that. He let himself focus on his body, trying to shut out the outside world. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.

“Kurooooo!” came a boisterous cry that jolted Kenma out of his head. Kuroo leaped up only to be crashed into by who he could only assume was Bokuto. He was only a little shorter than Kuroo, but he was much broader and his hair was . . . well, it was sure something.

“Bokuto! Hey, this is Kenma.” Kuroo said, pulling back to gesture to Kenma, who was sitting on the gym floor, trying to stretch. Bokuto kind of hopped toward him and squatted to his level.

“The fabled Kenma. Nice to meet you!” He said, beaming at him. Fabled? What had Kuroo said about him?

“Umm, yeah.” Was all he managed.

“Bokuto-san. We should go.” Said another voice from behind Kuroo.

“But Akaashi, I was talking to Kenma!” Bokuto groaned, leaning back until he fell.

“Oh-ho? Is this the Akaashi I’ve heard all about?” Kuroo said, one lip turning up, “I’m glad I get to meet you.” Akaashi was as prepared for Kuroo as Kenma was for Bokuto.

“Ahh, nice to meet you.” He said. He was very reserved, but Kenma could tell that Kuroo had thrown him off. Kuroo had that affect sometimes.

“We should all hang out sometime!” Bokuto suggested, still lying flat on his back.

“Oh, yes, totally.” Kuroo said before Akaashi could interject. Instead he just sighed.

“Bokuto-san, we should go.” He said instead.

“You’re right, we have a game to win,” Bokuto said, standing quickly, “See you!” 

“Later!” Kuroo waved as the two walked off. Then he turned to Kenma.

“What?”

“What did you think of him?” He asked.

“He was, uh, very energetic.” Kenma said, unsure of what to say.

“That’s an understatement.” Kuroo said, rolling his eyes and joining Kenma on the floor.

“Also, he one hundred percent likes Akaashi.” Kenma added after a minute.

“I know, right? You should hear how he talks about him. You think Akaashi likes him back? He was kind of hard to read.” Kuroo mused. Kenma shrugged.

“He calls him Bokuto-san.” Was all he had to say.

“True, true.”

 

Nationals was kind of awesome. They played a lot and they won a lot, but they couldn’t win them all and Kenma didn’t have to play the whole tournament. He’d never tell Kuroo, but it was a small relief when they were finally eliminated so he could relax a bit. They got pretty far, which would ease Kuroo’s pain, whenever that hit. Right now, however, all of Nekoma was sitting in the stands watching Fukurodani win the final match. Kenma saw just how strong Bokuto was as a player and just how well he worked with Akaashi. Watching also solidified in Kenma’s mind that there was definitely something special between the two of them. Kuroo was yelling and cheering for the whole final set, but it was obvious who would win. Kenma dreaded having to play them in the future. It would take a lot of work.

 

Kuroo came into his room that night with shower-soft hair flipped down into his face. Kenma was curled under the blankets, looking at his phone. Kuroo had his sad face on. Not his ‘please distract me, Kenma’ face, but just a sad face that meant that Kenma had to let him be sad for a while. Kuroo walked up to the edge of his bed and then threw his entire weight on Kenma.

“Ffff, Kuroo, get off.” 

“Stop squirming.”

“You’re crushing me.”

“I wanted to win.”

“I know. But seriously, you’re heavy.”

“Hey.”

“I didn’t call you fat. Get off before you accidently kill me.”

“But then I wouldn’t have to hear your insults anymore.” Kuroo said, but he rolled off and slid under the covers next to Kenma, reaching for a second to turn off the lamp.

“Next year.” Kenma said into the darkness.

“Yeah. Next year.” Kuroo whispered into his neck.

 

After the tournament, Kuroo told him that they were going to meet Bokuto and Akaashi for lunch. Apparently, Kuroo and Bokuto had made a bet about who would win and now Kuroo owed Bokuto some ramen. That was fine with Kenma, but Kuroo insisted that he had to come along. Kenma didn’t have anything against Bokuto, but he didn’t really want to have to be around him for a long time. Bokuto was draining for him. At least Akaashi would be there, though. It seemed like those two balanced each other out. So maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Plus, Kuroo was buying ramen, so at least there was that.

“So when Bokuto realized that he had left his bag behind, we were already like, five stops away. So we had to go all the way back to find it. Luckily it was still there, but we missed the movie because of it.” Kuroo finished before leaning down to his ramen bowl and slurping loudly. Bokuto whined something about ‘his bro calling him out’ but at this point Kenma had stopped paying much attention to the conversation. He was mostly focused on Bokuto himself. How could someone so boisterous and unworried be so focused on the court? Bokuto was a bit of a mystery to Kenma, but not as much as Akaashi. Akaashi was calm in a way that was almost unsettling compared to Bokuto, but the two of them had found some sort of perfect balance.

Kuroo and Bokuto continued talking about all the stupid things they’d done together before and after Kuroo moved. Kenma glanced at Akaashi through his hair only to find that he was already watching him. Kenma quickly looked away, wondering what Akaashi was thinking. He was definitely a strategist, even though most of his strategies revolved around Bokuto. Kenma chanced looking up again, glad to find that Akaashi had also looked away.

A few minutes later, Kenma found himself standing outside with only Akaashi. Kuroo was paying and Bokuto was in the bathroom and Kenma was dying for one of them to hurry up so he didn’t have to wait in awkward silence.

“I’m glad Kuroo-san has someone like you.” Akaashi said after a moment. What? What exactly was Akaashi thinking? Kenma had barely said a word in Akaashi’s presence and he could still make a judgement like that? Or had he heard something from Bokuto?

“Uh, yeah.”

“I just-” Akaashi seemed to sense his discomfort, “I didn’t mean to presume anything, I just. Uh, I thought you two were that kind of friends where you know each other without having to say anything. I guess I think it’s cool or something.” He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away and for some reason, Kenma decided to like Akaashi right then and there. Kenma could finally see a person behind the calm mask. He felt himself relax.

“I guess it is kind of like that sometimes.” He said and Akaashi also seemed to relax.

“Hey, hey Akaashi!” Bokuto came through the door, Kuroo in toe. 

“We should probably head home.” Kuroo said, tilting his head in a ‘let’s go’ motion. Kenma nodded. 

“We should all hang out again sometime.” Bokuto suggested and Kenma kind of agreed.

 

Kenma came to deeply appreciate the feeling of being in the same school as Kuroo. He could walk over to his class during breaks or eat lunch together or just know that he was near. These were the little things that Kenma made sure never to forget while he was in it. Next year would have the slow, crushing anxiety of knowing that it would be another ‘last’, but this year, this year was comfortable, an easy rhythm that they both participated in. He wondered if Kuroo thought about it the same way. He knew that Kuroo missed him when they weren’t in the same school, if Yaku was to be believed. 

There was also the team. This team was different. Aside from the third years, they all cared about each other in a way Kenma wasn’t familiar with. By this time of the year, most of them understood generally what Kenma was like, what he didn’t like, how to talk to him. Kenma appreciated that more than he cared to admit. He wouldn’t say that they’d figured him out, but they were a lot closer than most other humans on the planet.

 

Kuroo texted him at midnight on the dot wishing him a happy birthday. Kenma smiled at his phone, already curled up under the covers. He sent him a quick ‘thanks’ back and put his phone down.

The next morning, the two left Kenma’s house for school and 3 minutes later, Kenma knew something was up. Kuroo was more excited than usual, more excited than a normal birthday.

“Why are you like that?” Kenma asked.

“Hmm? Like what?” 

Kenma rolled his eyes. “What are you hiding?”

“A birthday surprise after we get home.” Kuroo said, simply.

“What? What is it?”

“A surprise.”

“Tell me.”

“No way, that’s the point of a surprise.”

“But tell me anyway.”

“Nope.” Kuroo was smirking. This was going to be good if he was this excited.

“Alright then, keep your secrets.”

 

Kuroo was walking too fast. They’d get home when they always did, but Kuroo wanted to run, Kenma could tell. His long legs carried him far ahead of Kenma before he turned back to drag Kenma along with him. Kenma rolled his eyes again but let himself be carried along by Kuroo’s excitement. The surprise was for him after all. Kenma had been thinking about it all day, not like he’d ever tell Kuroo. He couldn’t think of any video games that would make Kuroo this excited to give it to him, which honestly left Kenma baffled. 

“Welcome home.” His mother said when Kuroo burst through the door and flung his shoes off. Kenma followed at a slightly slower pace. Kuroo ran to the living room then looked to his mother, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His mother laughed, “Sit down, I’ll get it.” So his mother was in on this too.

She returned with a normal shoebox. It wasn’t wrapped in any way and she carried it carefully, making sure not to tip it. She handed it to Kuroo over the back of the couch and Kuroo turned to him, grinning.

“Happy birthday, Kenma.” He said. Kenma reached out slowly, unsure what to do. He took the box from Kuroo, wondering what could be so light. He put the box on his lap and slowly lifted the lid up. Inside was the smallest little cat Kenma had ever seen. It was curled up on a blue blanket that starkly contrasted with its bright orange fur. When Kenma lifted the lid off, it raised its head and stared at Kenma with huge green eyes. Kenma breathed out a little puff of air and looked at Kuroo. Kuroo was looking right back at him and smiling a soft smile.

“I . . .” Kenma started but he couldn’t get anything else out.

“Her original name was Ginger, but I wanted to name her Waluigi.” Kuroo said, completely ruining the mood and breaking the spell over Kenma.

“She’s not purple,” Kenma snapped, “but she is orange like Daisy . . .”

“Daisy. That would be a wonderful name.” His mother said from over his shoulder. Wait a second.

“How long have you?” Kenma started.

“Oh, Tetsu-kun wanted this since he heard that Mrs. Onagawa down the street had a pregnant cat.” His mother said.

“So you were in on this?” He asked. It seemed to startle a laugh out of her.

“I suppose you could say that, yes.”

“She’s perfect.” Kenma said, picking her up with the upmost care. She was warm and delicate and precious. Kenma had never felt so much love for something so quickly. He cradled Daisy against his chest and she started squirming, digging her little claws into his shirt and climbing. She made it to his shoulder and walked across to the other side before curling up settling down. 

“I’m so glad she liked you and that you like her.” Kuroo said softly.

“I love her,” Kenma said, simply, “and thank you.” Kuroo met his gaze and smiled that soft smile again.

“You’re welcome.”

 

Life was somehow entirely different with Daisy around. Kenma still did all the same old things he always did, but Daisy made everything seem new and special. He spent hours researching how to take proper care of her and he’d randomly text interesting cat facts to Kuroo, who seemed just as interested as he did. And because Kuroo was Kuroo, the whole team knew about his kitten. They’d ask about her and Kenma couldn’t help but answer, the final bricks in the wall between him and the rest of the team crumbling before a tiny kitten. 

Having Daisy around almost distracted Kenma from a new development. Something that Kenma was sure Kuroo was trying to hide from him. Kenma couldn’t be sure, but – no he was pretty sure that Kuroo had a girlfriend. So far it was just little things. Being busy at weird times, making weird purchases, and the like, but he still hadn’t said anything. Kenma thought about ignoring it, but he gave up after a week and asked Tora.

“Do you know if Kuroo has a girlfriend?”

“Huh? How would I know? I thought you two were best buds.” So it wasn’t common knowledge at least. He needed to ask someone else.

 

“Yaku-san.” Kenma said when the two of them were in the supply closet, cleaning up after practice. Yaku turned.

“Yeah?”

“Does Kuroo have a girlfriend?” He asked and the look on Yaku’s face told him everything he needed to know.

“He, um. Not many people know.”

“Yeah, I guess. He just didn’t tell me.” Kenma felt like curling up on himself. It was like someone had punched a hole in his stomach. Why did he feel like this? Yaku looked horrible too, guilty.

“He told me not to tell you. I wanted to I-”

“It’s not your fault. I have to go.” Kenma left, not even finishing the clean-up and no one called him back. He went home alone for the first time in a long time and the emptiness in his gut only settled in. Kenma didn’t know that Kuroo was dating someone. Kuroo didn’t tell him. He thought they told each other everything. Why would Kuroo want to keep this a secret from him? He felt sick. He could almost hear Kuroo calling his name in the distance. Wait, that wasn’t . . . Kenma turned and saw Kuroo running at him at full speed, still in his gym clothes, bag bouncing at his side. Kenma turned away. He couldn’t really bare to face him at the moment, but he also couldn’t get his feet to move, so he just stood there, back to Kuroo. He listened as he got closer, then stopped a few feet away.

“Kenma, please.” Kuroo said, out of breath. Kenma didn’t say anything. “Yaku told me that-”

“Really? Yaku told you? I guess you two tell each other everything now.” Kenma snapped, voice steadier than he felt. Kuroo was silent for a moment.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you. I was, I don’t know. I was scared for some reason. I didn’t want you to think that I was, I don’t know! I just couldn’t think of any good way to tell you and then some time passed and I didn’t want to tell you at all and I didn’t know how you would react.”

“Oh, yeah this is much better.” Kenma couldn’t stop it from sounding bitter.

“Kenma, don’t be mad at me.” Mad? Devastated more like, but he couldn’t quite put that into words right now. “Kenma, look at me.” A hand on his shoulder. Kenma finally turned. Kuroo looked equally devastated, even though this was his fault.

“What’s she like?” Kenma asked quietly.

“Her name is Yumiko. She confessed to me after she saw us play. She pretty quiet, smart. I’m trying to get to know her. I’m not sure if it will work out.” Kuroo ran a hand through his wild hair.

“Why not?”

“She’s not – oh my god I’m gonna sound like a horrible person – she’s not that interesting. I think she just thinks I’m hot and wanted a boyfriend.”

“Then why’d you say yes?”

“I guess I wanted to try it out, see what it was like.”

“What’s it like?”

“Uh, kind of boring.”

“Then break up.” It seemed obvious to Kenma, but Kuroo broke out into laughter.

“See, kitten, if I’d talked to you right away, I would have been with her for two days.” Kenma didn’t see anything wrong with that.

 

Kuroo broke up with Yumiko and started telling him about every passing interest he had, as if to make up for his mistake. He would tell Kenma about a pretty girl he saw on the street or comment about actresses in new movies. After a little while, Kenma couldn’t help but compare himself. He didn’t have those kinds of thoughts, or if he did, they were much more infrequent. He never looked at a girl at school and had thoughts like Kuroo. After a mild crisis, Kenma decided that it was actually better this way. Having a girlfriend would be draining, in every sense of the word. Kenma didn’t think he wanted that. But it looked like Kuroo did. He would ask Kenma for advice, even though they both knew that Kenma had no idea what to do. Kuroo just kept telling him that Kenma knew him better than he knew himself and would never steer him wrong and Kenma just couldn’t argue with him.

 

Things went on. Daisy grew faster than Kenma could keep up with. His first year ended. The third-years finally graduated, and they got a few new members. A setter, a libero, and two energetic middle blockers. But, in the start of Kenma’s second year, Kuroo did something that changed everything.

 

Kuroo started dating a boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, but the cliffhanger was too tempting.


	8. Keeping up Appearances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma's second year begins with a little angst and a little change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Another chapter because I was on a roll

His name was Oyasu. He was on the basketball team. He’d been the one to approach Kuroo. Kuroo had said yes. Kuroo kept talking but that was really all Kenma could take. His chest felt empty in a terrifying way. Kenma had holed up in his room after Kuroo told him. Maybe it would have been better if Kuroo had never told him anything, but then again, Kenma had been . . . okay after everything with Yumiko. They’d reached a kind of balance, a rhythm, where Kuroo told him things and Kenma listened without getting that empty feeling. He sometimes wanted to say something in response, but he didn’t have anything to say. The only difference from usual was his desire to fill in the blank spaces that he was sure only he perceived. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Kuroo asked as they walked to school. Kenma didn’t want to lie to Kuroo, but he really, really didn’t want to say the truth. He didn’t even know what that was.

“Mmm.”

“Is this about Oyasu?” Kuroo asked and Kenma couldn’t help but flinch. Right for the heart. “Are you weirded out that I’m dating a guy?” Kuroo walked sideways so he could face Kenma. The problem wasn’t that Kuroo was dating a boy, at least, not for the reasons that Kuroo was thinking. The problem was that Kenma’s mind hadn’t really thought about all the things that came with that. That Kuroo could like guys like that, that he wasn’t just someone for girls to like. For some reason, Kenma felt like a door had opened and he didn’t know where it went, so he didn’t look inside. But again, he didn’t want to lie to Kuroo, but he couldn’t tell him the truth.

“Mmm.”

“Give me something, Kenma.”

“I’m not weirded out.” That wasn’t a lie.

“Well, that’s something.” Kuroo said, flatly.

“I’m fine.” He said, willing it to be the truth.

“You would tell if . . .”

“If what?”

“I don’t know, if anything. You’d tell me, right?”

“But nothing happens to me.”

“But if something did, would you tell me?”

“I don’t really think you have any ground to make a demand like that.” Kenma’s tone was devoid of any emotion and the second he said it, he regretted it. Nothing ever happened to him and he liked it that way. It would have been easy to just agree and know that it would never come up again. Why was he still so hurt? Why did any of this matter so much to him? Kuroo straightened up immediately with a clipped, “Of course.” and neither of them said anything else the rest of the way.

 

The rest of the week didn’t really go any better. Practice was a little harder with Coach Nekomata back at the school, but he was mostly fine with it. Mostly, he was torn between avoiding Kuroo out of pettiness and not being lonely. He decided to be petty, at least for a little bit, but it seemed like he didn’t have a choice. He had his head down, focusing on his PSP, as he came out of the club room after practice only to be startled by a yell.

“Geez, dude! Do something about your hair, would’ja?” It was Tora, hand clutched over his heart.

“What do you mean?” Kenma asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

“You look like that freaky girl in that one horror movie! You’re scarin’ me!” Tora said. Oh, was that it? Kenma looked back to his game.

“Not my problem.”

“When you stagger around like that, everybody looks, y’know. It makes you stick out!” Tora said and Kenma’s world tilted sideways. He always tried so hard to fade into the background, to draw as little attention as possible. Even when he was with Kuroo, he was confident that he wasn’t the one pulling the room’s attention.

“Uhh, you okay?” Tora asked.

“I’m fine.” Kenma didn’t have a problem lying to him as he made his quick escape. He didn’t have to worry about Kuroo on the way home because he had something with Oyasu, but that also meant that Kenma didn’t have anyone to stop him as he impulsively ducked into a drug store and bought a box of hair dye.

 

He threw open the front door a little breathless and a lot panicky. His mother leaned out of the kitchen.

“Hi boys,” she said before fully analyzing the situation. “Sorry, Tetsu-kun is usually the one banging doors open.” Kenma closed the door quietly as an apology.

“He’s with his boyfriend today.” Kenma said. His mother blinked before smiling.

“I didn’t know he was dating anyone.”

“He’s new.” Kenma didn’t really feel like talking about it and his mother could tell.

“What’s that?” She gestured to the box in his hand and he stared down at the picture of a model with long blonde hair.

“Will you help me?” He asked, realizing he had no idea what he was doing.

“If you help with dinner after.” She said, spinning back into the kitchen to turn off the stovetop. Kenma’s stomach tightened with the suddenness of it. He was going to look so different. Would it only draw more attention? No, he needed it. He needed something new, something fresh to shake off all the emptiness. 

His mother plucked the box from his hands as she passed him, standing motionless by the door. By the time he managed to follow her into the bathroom, she had the instructions out and was reading them. 

It took a lot more time than he thought it would and it resembled a science project more than anything else, but his mother smoothly moved from step to step and applied the dye with careful hands. It tingled on his scalp as he waited on the toilet.

“Why the change, Kenma?” His mother rarely asked him direct questions like that, questions without a way out. He gave her as direct an answer as he could manage.

“I needed a change. And Tora said I looked like the girl from some horror movie. He said I stood out.”

His mother hummed thoughtfully. “And why did you pick a day when Tetsu-kun isn’t here to help out?”

“He’s busy today.”

“And you hate it.” She said it so easily, part of the truth he’d been dancing around.

“I hate it.” He admitted, his voice barely a whisper.

“Then tell him.” She said, sending a shock through his system.

“I can’t. He deserves to go on dates if he wants to. I won’t hold him back.”

“But he would be upset if he knew you weren’t telling him how you feel.” Kenma could only hear Kuroo asking him if he’d tell him if anything happened. What exactly had he meant by that? If Kenma liked someone? But Kenma didn’t want that kind of attention. Not from anyone but . . .

“Well, you have to rinse that out. I’m going to start dinner. You can come help when you’re done.”

 

Kenma stared at himself in the mirror later that night. He’d tried to lay down and go to sleep, but a nagging feeling in his stomach drove him to get up and sneak to the bathroom. He ran a hand through the golden strands that now framed his face. His eyes were almost the same color. He kind of liked the look. He looked less pale, less tired somehow. His gaze looked more piercing, determined. He definitely didn’t look like some girl from a horror movie. Tora would overreact. How would the rest of the team? How would Kuroo? Kenma considered taking a picture and sending it to him, but it was late and he wanted to see Kuroo’s reaction firsthand. He smiled at himself in the mirror. Yeah, it was a good look.

 

He walked into the club room for morning practice and the whole room went quiet. He glanced up. Every single person was looking at him. Most of them looked curious, but Kuroo, Kuroo had a strange look on his face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open just a little. When he spoke, it was strangely breathy.

“Uh, Kenma, what did you do to your hair?”

“Tora said it stood out, so I dyed it.”

Yaku laughed. “I think he meant to get it cut.”

“Can’t. I get nervous when my field of vision is too open.”

“But you know,” Kai said, “thinking about it, it actually does make him fit in more. Especially with Tora’s mohawk.” At the mention of his name, Tora finally recovered from his shock and leaped forward, jumping on Kenma and ruffling his hair. The others started cutting in, making comments and telling him it looked good. Kenma let out a small sigh of relief that he didn’t know he’d been holding. He told himself that he didn’t need their approval, but having it felt better than he wanted to admit. He had worried it had been a huge mistake, but not anymore.

“Still, having to keep dying the roots is going to be a bit of work.” Tora said.

“Meh, that’s a pain. I’ll just let it grow out.” Kenma said, tugging on a golden strand.

“Going for the ‘pudding’ look, huh?” Tora chuckled. Kenma shrugged.

“Alright everybody, let’s get moving!” Yaku said and the team filed out of the club room. Kenma was slow, so he heard another bit of conversation.

“He’s definitely fitting in more than when he first joined the team.” Yaku said quietly.

“Though that doesn’t have anything to do with his hair.” Kai replied almost too quiet for Kenma to hear. He ducked away before they could see him, but he couldn’t stop the little smile from tugging at his lip.

Later, Kenma realized that Kuroo hadn’t said anything about his hair after his initial question. Did he hate it? Kenma couldn’t read his face, didn’t know what to think. He tried not to care, but he really did. At the end of class, his phone buzzed. Kuroo had sent him a cryptic message saying that he had something to do and for Kenma not to wait for him. Kenma stared at the message, re-reading it several times before shoving his phone in his pocket and walking home alone again. 

 

At dinner that night, his mother asked how his new hair went over.

“The team really like it,” He said neutrally, “They said it made me fit in with them more.”

“I’m glad.” His mother said, smiling.

“I think it suits you.” His father said, nodding. It was almost enough to make him forget about Kuroo. Too bad Kuroo didn’t want to be forgotten. There was a banging on the door that could only be him. Kenma was on his feet before either of his parents could say anything and to the door before they could make a move.

Kuroo looked more ruffled than normal, like he’d just run home. He was chewing on his lip and didn’t say anything when Kenma stepped aside, just gestured for Kenma to follow him into his room. Kenma closed the front door and shrugged at his parents before trailing after Kuroo. 

Kuroo made him close the door before he said anything.

“I broke it off with Oyasu.” He said seriously. How was Kenma supposed to respond to that?

“Okay . . ?” He said cautiously, feeling like something else was coming. It was. Kuroo stepped forward and placed his hands on either side of Kenma’s face. Kenma couldn’t help but tense up.

“I love your hair.” Kuroo said so earnestly that Kenma just stood there, silent. After another second, Kuroo jerked back and turned away. Embarrassed, Kenma noted.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?

“I was surprised. Congratulations, Kenma, you left me speechless.” Kuroo chuckled to himself. Kenma left out a little huff.

“I thought you didn’t like it.” He said, trying not to sound petty. Kuroo backpedaled. 

“No! I really like it. It looks so cute, but Yaku would laugh at me if I said that. Wait, were you eating dinner?” Kenma shrugged. “Oh my god, I should go, then. See you tomorrow.” Kenma heard him apologize to his parents and leave before he could find a way to make his heartbeat slow down.

“What did Tetsu-kun want?” His mother asked when he rejoined them.

“He said he likes my hair.” Kenma didn’t miss the look his parents shared, but he wasn’t sure what it meant.

 

After that, things fell back into an easy rhythm for the two of them. Kuroo didn’t start dating anyone after Oyasu, but he did start doing something equally annoying. He starting doing these horrible speeches with this nerdy ‘blood in the veins’ metaphor that made Kenma seem way more important than he actually was. Kuroo didn’t stop, no matter how many times Kenma told him it was lame. 

The calm also meant that Kenma wasn’t distracted from the new first-years anymore. After turning his attention to them for a few days, he wished he had something new to distract him. The new libero and setter were fine. They weren’t anything special and they were quiet, which was more than he could say for the middle blockers. Both were loud and boisterous, but one was definitely worse than the other. Inouka was excitable, but he took directions well, at least that’s what Kenma thought after watching him learn with Kuroo. Lev, on the other hand, was a towering noodle of a Russian that would not shut up and never learned anything, not matter how much Yaku yelled at him. He was also the one that wouldn’t leave Kenma alone.

“Oi! Kenma-san, toss to me!” He demanded, way too loudly.

“No.” Kenma said, ducking out of the room. Practice was over, anyway. How did he still have energy? Thankfully, Yaku came to his aid.

“Shut up, you beanpole! Go change out!” He demanded from the other side of the room. Lev tried to argue, but Yaku had already turned away. Kenma took the opportunity to leave. Better to let someone else deal with Lev. 

Kenma started spending most of his time practicing with Inouka in preparation for an upcoming training camp. He usually let Yaku and Kuroo take care of Lev. There wasn’t much Kenma could do when Lev couldn’t even do the basics.

 

Kenma didn’t mean to get lost. He thought he was following Kuroo pretty well, but apparently his phone distracted him too much and when he glanced up, there was no one else in sight. Kenma sighed and sat down on the nearest step, knowing that Kuroo would come find him. What he didn’t expect was for someone else to find him.

“Hi! Whatcha doing?” The voice startled him, almost making him drop his phone. A short boy with bright orange hair was jogging towards him.

“Ummm, uh, being lost?” He wasn’t quite sure how else to put it. The boy didn’t seem fazed, though.

“Really? So you’re not from around here?” Please stop talking to me, Kenma wished, splitting his gaze between the boy and his phone.

“No.” Was all he said and there was a moment of silence. The boy plowed on, undeterred.

“Is that fun?” He asked crouching down by Kenma’s stupid game app.

“Uhh, not really. It’s just a good way to pass the time.”

“Oh. Oh! You play volleyball?!” He said, leaping up, “Those shoes! They’re volleyball sneakers, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

“I’m on a volleyball team too! I’m Hinata Shouyo.” He said. Hmm, maybe he was worth some attention. Was he here for the training camp? Was he even in high school? That’s when he noticed the words ‘Karasuno High’ on Shouyo’s shirt. So they would be playing each other if this boy was a regular. Kenma took a moment before he realized that he needed to answer.

“Kozume . . .”

“Kozume? Is that your first or last name?”

“Kozume Kenma.” He said and Shouyo barreled on, ignoring Kenma’s awkward responses. He asked Kenma what year he was, recoiling when he realized he was a second-year. Kenma quickly shut that down and Shouyo continued on. He was surprisingly easy to talk to for a complete stranger. He didn’t seem to care that Kenma gave him short, quiet answers, asking about his position and surprising Kenma again when he declared that he was a middle blocker. He described his team’s setter, apparently a monster of some kind and asked Kenma how his team was.

“I dunno,” Kenma replied, “I hear we used to be really good, then we got really bad. But the team we’ve got now . . . I think it’s pretty good.” At that moment, he heard Kuroo calling for him. “Ah, Kuro. Gotta go.” He said with a wave. “See ya later, Shouyo.”

 

He followed Kuroo back to the rest of the team.

“Who was that?” Kuroo asked.

“Hinata Shouyo. He plays for Karasuno.”

“The crows? That little chibi?”

“He said he’s a middle blocker.”

“No way. What are those birds thinking? So you had a real conversation with him?”

“Yeah, I guess. He did most of the talking though.” Kenma said. Kuroo shrugged and Kenma smiled a little. For some reason, he was kind of excited to see what Karasuno had in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another brief appearance from Eavesdropping Kenma. We're gonna start really digging into like, actual anime stuff now. I can't wait!
> 
> My tumblr if anyone is interested:  
> pocketcecil.tumblr.com


	9. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nekoma plays Karasuno for the first time  
> and  
> Kenma and Lev go on an epic cat rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, it has been so long, so you get an extra long chapter with both Karasuno and a lot of Lev!
> 
> This is from basically all of volume 4 - chapters 26-34 and from the Nekoma ova  
> I'm sticking closer to the manga than the anime, but there aren't many differences anyway

Tora was yelling about something stupid, angry that Karasuno supposedly had a girl manager and trying to rope everyone else into the debate. Kenma was barely paying attention, but Kuroo tried to shut him up.

“Hey! Kenma, what do you think?” Kenma didn’t have enough energy to care about something so pointless and he told Tora as much. Tora rolled his eyes and said something else, but Kenma’s thoughts were wandering towards Karasuno and the boy he’d met.

“Still . . . I’m kinda looking forward to it. Our game with Karasuno.” He mused. Apparently he’d said something shocking because everyone paused and looked at him. Tora started yelling about how he was actually looking forward to a game until Kuroo shut him up.

 

The day of the match, Kenma did his best not to make eye contact as the team approached to greet them. The team had an interesting mix of members and he didn’t really want to catch Shouyo’s eye at the moment either because his shock was evident.  
Shouyo waved him down as they were entering the gym, shocked that he was on Nekoma and demanding to know how he knew they’d meet later. Kenma watched as he slowly figured everything out for himself with little input from Kenma, but it was pretty entertaining, at least until Tora showed up like some kind of big brother.

“Hey.” Kenma said as a kind of warning, but Tora was in the mood to start a fight and it looked like Karasuno had someone ready to fight back. He was about Tora’s height and had a closely shaved head. Kenma wasn’t sure what to do. Luckily, Yaku swooped in to cut Tora off at the knees and another Karasuno member showed up to take care of the bald guy. Kenma turned away just in time to see Kuroo shaking hands with Karasuno’s captain. Kuroo had a look on his face, a look that Kenma had only seen a few times before. It was the look he always had when he was really annoyed but he had to be polite. The other captain had a very similar face. It looked almost like they were sizing each other up.

 

By the time they got to the court, Kenma got the feeling that Karasuno was a scattered team of misfits. Half of the team seemed like they didn’t really want to be there and the rest of the team spent most of their time trying to wrangle the few energetic people. It looked exhausting. However, when Kenma caught Shouyo’s eye, he decided to answer one of his initial questions.

“You know, when you asked about our team, I said I thought we were good. But that’s not because I’m on it. It’s because we’re together.” Shouyo looked like he wanted to say something, but the whistle blew and Kenma moved away to do the opening serve.

It was a pretty good serve, for Kenma, and their receive wasn’t great, forcing the setter to run around. It was sloppy. The setter twisted, setting towards the right and – wait, what? The whistle blew. Kenma forced his face to stay calm, but his heart was pounding. Shouyo had spiked that so fast, it was like he was there before the set even began and the most amazing thing was that his eyes were closed the entire time. Was that real?

“Wow that was surprising.” Kenma said to Shouyo, just to see how he’d react, just to see if Shouyo was as surprised as he was. Shouyo just laughed a little. Was this normal? He’d just have to watch.

During the second point, it looked like they’d get to see that quick again, but the setter set to their ace instead. Now, Kenma could feel his team questioning Karasuno’s strategies, but Kenma needed more information still. He started collecting data. The tall middle blocker was a cool type, the kind to watch and react. The setter was amazing, way better than him and it seemed like Shouyo was somehow their most important offensive player and an effective decoy. 

The timeout gave him a chance to share his findings. 

“If Shouyo is the core of their offense, then all we need to do is stop him.” He said.

“Shouyo? Who’s that?” Tora asked.

“Their zippy number 10.” Kuroo filled in.

“If there’s no telling where he’s gonna go and we can’t catch him, then we need to narrow down the areas where he can move. After that, it’s just a matter of chasing him down.” Kenma thought for a moment, “Inouka.” He watched the first-year snap to attention. “You’re the quickest guy we have, right?”

“Ah, yessir, thank you sir!”

“I think anybody who first sees that super-fast set of theirs is gonna be surprised. I was. There are game levels that look impossible the first time you see them too. But the more you play through them, the more you practice, the more you get used to them.”

“For example, their number 10 and number 9 are like an oni and his club,” Coach Nekomata chimed in, “If you want to beat the oni, first take away his club.”

 

They went back into the game with a new strategy and a revitalized mindset. It made Kenma think of the time Kuroo asked him not to quit volleyball in his first year. It was all about Kenma’s will to play and there was something about Karasuno, about Shouyo, that made Kenma glad that he stuck around. 

Kenma watched as Inouka got more used to the way Shouyo moved while Kenma tried out a few of his theories. The tall middle blocker was watching Kenma very closely, which meant he easily fell for Kenma’s feint and later, Shouyo wasn’t prepared for Kenma to do a dump shot, nabbing them another point. On Nekoma’s set point, the rally went on for a while and luckily, they had Yaku, though Karasuno’s libero was no slouch either. Finally, Kenma watched as Inouka got his entire hand in front of one of Shouyo’s spikes and secured them the set. Nekoma cheered, but Kenma was more interested in how Karasuno reacted. Most of the team looked shocked, and Shouyo’s face was surprisingly blank.

 

The next set didn’t go much better for Karasuno now that Inouka could reliably get his hands on Shouyo’s spikes. Kenma started to lose interest. There was nothing fun about watching a spiker who couldn’t get anything through and Kenma didn’t want to watch that happen to Shouyo. But then, Shouyo looked up at Inouka and he smiled with an eerie serenity that sent a shiver though Kenma. The next spike Shouyo tried was fundamentally different for some reason, but Kenma couldn’t quite put his finger on why. Karasuno took a timeout after that giving Kenma a moment to think.

“His eyes were open.” Kenma said to himself.

“Wha?” Kuroo said, leaning down a bit.

“That last spike that Shouyo did, he opened his eyes midair. It’s the first time he’s had his eyes open during a spike.”

“Is that why they took a timeout?” Kuroo asked, trying to piece it together. Kenma just shrugged. Shouyo had his full attention now.

 

When Karasuno returned, Shouyo’s spikes had a beginner quality, but neither Shouyo nor his setter backed down. The points still didn’t come easy, however, as Karasuno had several good defensive players. After a while, it looked like they were starting to get their footing again and that was exactly when Kuroo decided to step in and really turn up his game. Kenma tried not to roll his eyes when Kuroo started goading the other team, calling Shouyo ‘chibi’ only for Shouyo to spike on right past him. Kuroo played it cool, and they won the next point.

The rest of the set was a tight back and forth, forcing Nekoma to play all their cards and reminding Kenma of when Kuroo first tried to do a delayed spike with him, but eventually, they won the second set and the game. Kenma wasn’t sure what to expect from Shouyo, but it sure wasn’t what happened.

“Let’s do that again!” He said, determined. Coach Nekomata glanced at his team before agreeing to let them play another game.

 

They played three games total and, much to Kenma’s dismay, each one lasted longer than the one before. Karasuno never won a single set, but they got closer and closer each time. It almost felt like they were closing in, but they lacked the cohesion they needed to win. Nekomata finally drew the line and sent his team to clean up.

 

As they cleaned, they also mingled, something Kenma didn’t feel the need to join in. After a moment he felt like he was being watched, and he glanced around. Karasuno’s setter was glaring at him with a fiercely scary face and muttering something. Kenma took one look at him and veered away. That must have been what Shouyo meant when he said his setter was a monster.

 

Nekoma went to board the bus, team members saying goodbye as they went. Apparently, Tora had befriended Karasuno’s baldy somehow and Kuroo said goodbye to their captain in the same forced polite manner that they’d met.

“Kenma!” Kenma turned to see Shouyo running to catch up with him. “Back when we met up on the road the other day, you said you don’t really like volleyball all that much, right?”

“Huh? I guess, yeah.” Where was this going?

“What about now? You won all those awesome games! What do you think now?”

“Um . . .” His feelings on volleyball hadn’t changed much on the whole, “It was, okay, I guess.” Shouyo didn’t seem content with that answer.

“Next time, we’re gonna make you play real hard and make you get really determined, but we’re gonna win and then, we’re gonna make you say ‘it was really fun’ or ‘it was a hard loss’ or ‘we’re gonna get you next time’! Something other than just ‘it was okay’!” Kenma stood there in shock for a moment before a smile reached his face.

“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.” They said their goodbyes and Kenma knew he actually meant it. He would look forward to the next time he got to play Shouyo, to play Karasuno and maybe, next time, Shouyo would be right.

 

Everything came to a screeching halt when Coach Nekomata told Kenma that he would have to start practicing with Lev and that Lev would be in the next practice match.

“Try and carve out some time to practice with him.”

“Eh? Impossible.” Kenma tried, cutting this off at the pass.

“Impossible? Why impossible?” Lev demanded, but Coach Nekomata simply ended practice with a smile. Damn. Kuroo was watching him, careful. Then he shrugged.

“You heard him.” He said, all casual. Kenma turned away, annoyed.

 

The next day, he tried to toss to Lev, just a normal spike. Kenma watched the point where he stepped, the height of his jump, and the size of his backswing and made his best judgement. He thought it was a pretty good toss, but for some reason, Lev didn’t hit the ball at all. He completely and entirely whiffed, the ball bouncing off the top of his head. The gym was silent for a moment until everyone started laughing and joking. Kenma sighed. This was going to take a while.

After practice, Kenma sat next to Kuroo outside a convenience store, waiting for him to finish his ice cream and for the rest of the team to finish their purchases.

“You have it rough setting to Lev.”

“Yeah, ever since he joined, I’ve barely talked to him.”

“You and Lev are like oil and water. I don’t see you two mixing well.” Kenma agreed. It was that moment that Yaku, Tora, Inouka, and Lev trailed out of the store, and Lev immediately started boasting about how he’d definitely be ready for the practice match. Luckily, the rest of the team shot him down and Kenma didn’t have to say anything.

“But if I work super hard for the next two weeks with Kenma-san, then I’ll be ready, right?” Lev tried.

“It’s no easy feat to sync up with a mess like you.” Kenma said, not looking up from his PSP. He was halfway through Monster Hunter, “I’m not Karasuno’s setter.”

“Who?” Lev asked and Kenma let the team explain. It devolved into an argument about whether Lev sucked more than Shouyo and Lev somehow made the mistake of asking whether Shouyo was shorter than Yaku so Kenma tuned out.

The next week was full of Lev pestering Kenma to toss for him, which was actually starting to annoy Kenma, but Kuroo was having a lot of fun, calling him Mr. Popular and other stupid names. The problem wasn’t the extra practice, though Kenma wasn’t a fan of that, the problem was that Lev was anything but consistent. Kenma felt like he could match up to most spikers with a little time, but Lev refused to use the same timing or run-up twice in a row, making setting to him nearly impossible. Kuroo tried to give tips, but honestly, Kenma was ready to give up on him.

Kuroo also liked to rub it in when he got the chance.

“Watching Lev is kinda fun, isn’t it?” He said one day on the train home. Kenma scoffed.

“That’s only cuz you’re on the outside looking in.” Kenma said, then went on to explain Lev’s baffling behavior. Kuroo only hummed.

“You still haven’t beaten that enemy?” he said, leaning in to look over Kenma’s shoulder. He’d been stuck on the final boss for a while.

“Yeah. Its attacks are so strong it can one-shot me.”

“But the game will be over if you beat him so isn’t it more fun to have enemies you can’t seem to defeat?”

“I mean, having something you can never beat gets boring too.” Kenma said, just as the monster got in an attack that was just a little too quick for Kenma to dodge and his character fell to the ground.

“Then isn’t it best to attack before being attacked? They do say offense is the best defense, right? Just now before it attacked, its tail lit up.” Kuroo said and Kenma looked down at his death screen.

“Really?”

“What, you didn’t notice? I was sure you’d notice. You also tend to lose sight of your surroundings when you get fired up.” Kuroo said, a hint of mocking in his voice. Kenma glared at him for a moment before looking back down.

“I’m not fired up.” 

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.” Kenma said and Kuroo didn’t answer, so he took it as a win. He even let Kuroo lean on him as they both looked at the screen where Kenma attempted to beat the monster again. He liked the feeling of Kuroo’s weight leaning into him almost as much as he liked the rush of beating a boss. It almost made the melancholy of finishing a game fade away. Kenma turned to look at Kuroo and their faces were so close and Kuroo was smiling and something twisted in Kenma’s gut that wasn’t victory. 

And then Kuroo sat up straight and said, “I knew you could do it.”

 

They slowly got . . . better? They slowly got less bad. Kenma was trying to focus of Lev, to actually understand him and unfortunately, Lev noticed.

“Ahh! Kenma-san is focusing on me! Is it because I’ve gotten better?” He exclaimed.

“Nah, it’s probably cuz he’s pissed at how much you suck.” Tora chimed in.

“Kenma-san! Are you mad at me?” Kenma considered.

“Yeah, half of me is.” He said. Lev seemed devastated for all of two seconds before he switched into his usual baseless optimism. Kenma just sighed.

On their cool-down run, Kuroo called out that the team would be pulling ahead. The usual. What was unusual was Lev staying behind with Kenma, saying he needed to work to match him. Kenma was going to reply, to insist that he go ahead, but a loud cat’s mew stopped them both.

It was orange and white and it seemed to be stuck in a tree. Lev ran over as Kenma judged the situation. The branch was pretty high, higher than Lev could reach, but this didn’t seem to deter Lev. He leaped straight up and the only thing that stopped him was the cat itself. It was obvious that he spooked it and it lashed out in self-defense, but the jump had been impressive. Kenma didn’t know that Lev could jump that high.

“If you try to get it that way, you’ll scare it and get scratched.” Kenma said as Lev checked out his injury.

“So what should we do, Kenma-san?” Lev asked and on instinct, Kenma glanced around for Kuroo, but he’d run ahead with the rest of the team.

What happened next was regretful to say the least. He wanted to help the cat, but sitting on Lev’s shoulders, Kenma couldn’t help but feel he’d made a mistake. The cat refused to be helped, still scared and skittish. 

“This is useless. Let’s quit.” Kenma said, but Lev was apparently determined. Just when Kenma was ready to climb down, a huge gust of wind hit them and the cat slid sideways losing its grip on the branch. Kenma reached forward as far as he could without falling but he couldn’t reach. His stomach dropped, but in the blink of an eye, Lev’s long arm darted out and snatched the cat out of the air. The cat did not like this situation any better and started writhing, desperate to get away. Lev could not handle both the cat and Kenma, and instead of letting the cat go, like the idiot he was, Lev fell, and Kenma couldn’t do a thing as the ground came rushing up to meet him. He cracked his nose on the ground and his eyes teared up with the sting.

“Kenma-san! Are you alright?” Lev asked, looking as messed up as Kenma felt.

“No, I’m not alright at all.”

“Sorry! But that cat is alright, so it’s fine.” Lev said and Kenma took a moment to consider if this was worth his time and energy, but his thoughts were interrupted by Kuroo.

“Oi! What are you doing?” He called.

“You guys were taking forever, so we came back.” Inouka chimed in.

“We have to hurry and get back.” Tora said. They made their way back to the path and Inouka asked about their faces.

“Lev got me.” Kenma said, flatly.

“What, you two got in a fight?” Tora asked and the whole team swarmed around Kenma. “Don’t injure our precious setter!”

 

Practice after that went better for some reason. Like, actually better and not just ‘not bad’ better. Lev was starting to reliably tip each set, getting his hand on most, even though he never got a really good spike in. Kenma watched his form, his run up, and as he watched Lev’s jump, he remembered just how high he’d gone to get that cat. It kind of reminded him of Shouyo for some reason. Kenma decided to try something. He let the ball leave his hands the same moment Lev’s feet left the ground and his toss was one that would have been considered too high for most spikers. But Lev wasn’t most spikers and his long arm whipped through the air and snapped the ball to the ground in a glorious spike. The gym was silent for a moment before everyone cheered. He missed the next one, inconsistent as always, but Kenma had a taste of victory now and he knew they could do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this match was important enough to go through because usually, Kenma doesn't care enough and I breeze through them


End file.
